A major gain for J&K police

SRINAGAR, MARCH 28. Salauddin Ayubi, self-styled chief of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba in Jammu and Kashmir, who was gunned down by Special Operations Group of the State police in Budgam district this evening, was a most wanted man.

He was behind several strikes on security personnel in the State in recent weeks.

The State Inspector-General of Police, Mr. A. K. Bhan, said, a pistol, a wireless set and the wireless matrix were recovered from the possession of Salauddin, a resident of Lahore.

He had been operating in the Valley under many aliases - Nadim, Abdul Rehman, Tariq Mehmood and Obaida - and was carrying a fake identity card in the name of Shabir Ahmad, the IG said.

The Lashkar carried out six major strikes on the security camps and heavily-guarded installations in the Valley since January 16, when a six-member suicide squad made an abortive attempt to storm Srinagar airport.

The latest attack was made on a CRPF camp at Wazirbagh in Srinagar on March 26, which left four personnel and two militants dead.

- PTI

B. Muralidhar Reddy writes from Islamabad:

The Lashkar spokesman, Mr. Yahya Mujaheed, today said his organisation had no information about the Srinagar police claim of killing the outfit commander in Kashmir.

He said, ``all I can say is that Salauddin Ayubi is a member of the Lashkar but we have not been able to establish contact with any one to verify the police claim about the encounter.''

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