LeT militant killed in Bandipora may be related to Lakhvi

Abu Musaib, an LeT militant in his thirties, may be Lakhvi’s brother.

Army jawans take position during an encounter at the Hajin area in Bandipora district in Kashmir.

The counter-insurgency cell of the Jammu and Kashmir police is working on a lead that the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant killed in the Bandipora encounter on Thursday morning is related to the outfit’s Pakistan-based operational commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

A police official told The Hindu that Abu Musaib, an LeT militant in his thirties, was killed in an operation in Bandipora’s Hajin area on Thursday morning in a gunfight. One militant is believed to have escaped the encounter site.

Musaib, sources said, was LeT’s operational commander in Bandipora. One police personnel was also injured in the gunfight.

Sources said the police are working on a lead that the slain militant may be a close relative of LeT commander Lakhvi, who directly oversees operation inside J&K, and is wanted in the 2009 Mumbai attacks.

“There are leads that Musaib is a nephew of Lakhvi. The leads suggest he is son of Lakhvi’s brother. We are collecting details,” said a police officer.