KASHMIR-2NDLD ENCOUNTER 2LST

Khan said Altaf, known among the militant ranks as "Abu
Mohsin", was also involved in the killing of a National
Conference worker at Monghama village of Tral in Pulwama
district of the state last year.
Hailing from Chursoo village of Awantipora, Altaf was
earlier associated with Hizbul Mujahideen and after serving a
jail term joined Pakistan-nased Lashker-e-Taiba, Khan said.
He was involved in a large number of militancy related
incidents including attacks on security forces, he said.
Zahoor alias Abu Turab was a resident of Armulla village
and was also active in militacy for the last several years,"
Khan said.
The encounter at Andoosa village came a day after state
police and CRPF personnel gunned down two LeT militants holed
up inside a hotel at Lal Chowk in the heart of the city,
ending a 22-hour siege that left a policeman and a
civilian dead and 11 others including two CRPF personnel
injured.
Security agencies said inputs from wireless intercepts
indicated that the two terroristswere in constant touch with
their handlers in Pakistan when they were holed up inside a
hotel there.
Indian Home Ministry officials said in New Delhi that
nearly 700 terrorists, half of them foreign mercenaries, are
active in Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the
country.
They said some more attacks were expected to take place
as the militants at the hotel in Lal Chowk area had
communicated the same to their handlers in Pakistan.
According to the official data available with the Home
Ministry, 413 infiltration attempts were made from across the
border during which 93 terrorists were killed while 110
managed to sneak in during January-November, 2009. PTI