Delhi HC blast accused killed in Sopore encounter

In a major success, security forces on Sunday shot dead two top Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists, including an accused in the Delhi high court blast, during an encounter in Sopore area of Kashmir.

"Two bodies have been recovered from the debris of the house where the terrorists were hiding. One of them has been identified as Muzammil alias Urfi, the self-styled divisional commander of the Lashkar," a police spokesman said.

Muzammil was one of the terrorists wanted in connection with the blast inside the high court in Delhi last year in which 17 people were killed.

He was also involved in a series of attacks on security forces and civilian killings in north Kashmir, the spokesman said.

The other slain terrorist has been identified as Abdullah Shaheen, a resident of Pakistan, he said.

Three security force personnel -- an Assistant Sub Inspector of Police, an Army jawan and a CRPF jawan -- were injured in the encounter that began in Chanakhan locality of

Sopore, 52 kms from Srinagar, in Baramulla district on Saturday.

Security forces had cordoned off the Chanakhan locality following information about presence of terrorists in the area.

The house, in which the terrorists were hiding, was razed to ground on Sunday morning.