Senior LeT commander among three militants killed

Jammu, Dec 19 (IANS) Three militants belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit, including its deputy divisional commander Iqbal Malik, were killed in a gun battle with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir Friday, the police said.

According to the police, the militants were hiding in Doda district.

The militants were targeted on the basis of specific information about their whereabouts, the police added.

Doda's Senior Superintendent of Police Perbhat Singh told IANS that Iqbal Malik was involved in several killings, including that of the minorities in Kulhand area April 30-May 1, 2006.

'We can now say that we have broken the backbone of the LeT group in Doda district,' Singh said.

The other two militants killed have been identified as Khursheed and Bilal. Three AK-47 rifles and explosives were recovered from the site of the gun battle.

On Thursday, security forces had killed Saifullah, another top militant of the same outfit, in another gun battle.