At least ten people were injured when terrorists threw a grenade in a crowded flea market in the heart of the city here on Sunday, officials said.The attack, which took place near the heavily-guarded Tourist Reception Centre (TRC), comes a day after a top Pakistani commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was eliminated by security forces in the Khanyar locality of downtown Srinagar.Police and paramilitary forces have been rushed to the spot to evacuate the injured and launch a search operation to track the terrorists, the officials said.The explosion caused panic in the area and sent shoppers scrambling for cover.This comes a day after a top Pakistani commander of the banned LeT outfit and two other terrorists were killed in two separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar and Anantnag districts on Saturday.The LeT commander, identified as Usman, was active in the valley for several years and was also involved in the killing of Inspector Masroor Wani, a senior police officer said. Wani was shot dead from close range while he was playing cricket in the Eidgah ground here in October last year.Usman was active in the valley for a very long time and was involved in several attacks, the officer said, adding that his killing is a “major blow” to the LeT in Jammu and Kashmir.”Usman was the seniormost Pakistani LeT commander here,” he said.Four security forces personnel were also injured in the Srinagar encounter.This was the first encounter in Srinagar in more than two years.In another anti-terror operation, two ultras were gunned down by the security forces in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The encounter broke out near Halkan Gali in the Shangus-Larnoo area.Addressing a press conference after the operation, Commander, 2 Sector RR of the Army, Brigadier Anirudh Chauhan, said the slain terrorists belonged to the People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) outfit—an offshoot of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).”We were receiving inputs about the movements of the PAFF group in Anantnag. This group killed Territorial Army Rifleman Hilal (Ahmad Bhat) on October 8. We received an input about their presence in the Larnoo area, and an operation was launched,” Chauhan said.Bhat was among the two soldiers who were allegedly kidnapped by terrorists during search operations in the forest area of Anantnag. While one jawan escaped, Bhat’s body was found in the Kazwan forest area in Kokernag. “Two terrorists were killed. A huge cache of arms and ammunition, including M4 and AK rifles, grenades, and three IEDs (improvised explosive devices), were seized. Both were dreaded terrorists and were involved in several attacks, including on non-locals,” the Army officer said.
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