Chatabal Encounter: All the three terrorists who had been holed up inside the house were killed

The Lashkar commander is considered among Kashmir's deadliest terrorists. He and two other terrorists were killed in an eight-hour-long gun battle. This is the second major encounter in Srinagar this year

Showkat Ahmed Tak, a Lashkar commander considered among Kashmir's deadliest terrorists, was killed in the eight-hour-long gun battle between security forces and a group of terrorists holed up inside a newly-constructed house at the congested Chattabal in downtown Srinagar. Two of the three heavily-armed terrorists killed in the operation have been identified. Showkat Tak was one of them.

The army had last year put him on the list of Kashmir's top 12 terrorists that it intended to go after. Showkat, the Lashkar-e-Toiba's commander in south Kashmir's Pulwama, is believed to have been active for a little over six years.

Security forces laid siege to the area at the crack of dawn after inputs about the presence of top Lashkar commanders. The search operation soon turned into an encounter after the terrorists fired at the security forces. All the three terrorists who had been holed up inside the house were killed in the operation that also left four security personnel, including an officer, injured.

State police chief SP Vaid said that the bodies of the three terrorists have been recovered from the encounter site. "Encounter has concluded in Chattabal, Srinagar. Three bodies of terrorists recovered in a clean operation by Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF. Their identification process is on," he told NDTV.

This is the second major encounter in Srinagar this year. In February, two terrorists were killed in a 28-hour-long encounter between security forces in Karan Nagar not far away from Chattabal.

There has been a spike in violence across the Valley ahead of the reopening of government offices in Srinagar, and just before the annual Amarnath Yatra.