A top commander of the Resistance Front (TRF), responsible for targeting members of the minority community, police personnel, and others, was killed, along with one accomplice in an overnight encounter with the joint team of security forces in the South Kashmir district of Kulgam on Tuesday.

The TRF is an an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba. The encounter broke out after the security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Redwani Payeen of Kulgam late on Monday after receiving inputs about the  terrorists.

“The operation continued throughout the night and concluded on Tuesday afternoon. Two terrorists were neutralised and their bodies have been retrieved," IG Police, Kashmir Vidhi Kumar Birdi said.

"The slain TRF commander has been identified as Basit Dar. He was an A-category terrorist and was involved in at least 18 cases. He was involved in the planning of conspiracy to attack minorities, police forces, and civilians," Birdi added.

The terrorists, according to Birdi, were given ample time and opportunity to surrender. "They did not pay any heed to the caution by police and security forces. The terrorists continued firing upon the forces and were killed in the encounter," he said.

According to police, the house in which the terrorists were hiding caught fire on Tuesday morning during the exchange of fire between the two sides.

Meanwhile, massive search operations are going on in the twin-border districts of Poonch and Rajouri to track down the terrorists responsible for attacking an IAF convoy that claimed the life of one IAF personnel. The ongoing searches have been going on across five district headquarters of Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, Udhampur and Kathua to ascertain the whereabouts of two active groups of foreign terrorists hiding in the area.

A member of the Village Defence Guard (VDG) was killed in a brief gunfight with the terrorists in the Basantgarh area of Udhampur on April 28.

The security forces have relied on aerial surveillance to maintain a tight vigil besides using sniffer dogs and foot soldiers to track down their footprints. So far no contact was established with the hiding group of terrorists.

The security forces have questioned several residents and also detained a few overground workers to ascertain the coordinates of the terrorists hiding in the upper reaches taking advantage of the natural cave-like structures and thick foliage.

Police have also put posters of two suspected terrorists offering a cash reward of Rs 20 lakh for any information leading to their arrest.

In Rajouri, security forces have launched a fresh search operation and put troops on alert following reports of suspected movement of two people in Sada and Kandi areas that have been cordoned off.