The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday neutralised two top commanders of the Resistance Force (TRF), a shadow outfit of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), who were responsible for several killings in the city and persuading the youth to join terror outfits, a senior official said.
“We had information about their presence in the area. Ten jawans of police dressed in civvies quickly surrounded the area and challenged the terrorists, who opened fire. In the retaliatory firing, the two were killed,” Inspector General of Police Kashmir zone Vijay Kumar told reporters.
Abbas Sheikh, one of the longest surviving militants and chief of the TRF, and his deputy Saqib Manzoor were killed in a brief shootout with police personnel at Aloochi Bagh in the city.
IGP Kumar said that the killing of Sheikh and Manzoor was a major success for the security forces. “We appeal to the people to prevent their children from joining terrorists. If they have already joined, please bring them back (to the mainstream). We will welcome them,” he added.
As per security officials, Sheikh was the mastermind behind most of the killings undertaken by his outfit in the past year.
