'Top Kashmir militant' shot dead

A militant suicide squad attacked a police camp this week

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir say they have killed the local commander of a major militant group.

Salaudin Ayubi, the local chief of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group, was shot dead by Indian security forces near the capital, Srinagar.

Salaudin... was the mastermind behind a large number of terrorist activities

Police statement

There has been no comment as yet from the Lashkar.

Police said Salaudin was killed in retaliatory fire by a police counter-insurgency unit, the Special Operations Group (SOG).

"The SOG party on patrol was ambushed and in the retaliatory action the most-wanted terrorist of the [Kashmir] valley was killed today," a police statement said.

"Salaudin, who was the mastermind behind a large number of terrorist activities, particularly in Srinagar and Budgam districts, was also responsible for fidayeen actions in recent months," the statement said.

One report said a pistol and a wireless set were recovered from the dead militant.

Suicide attacks

Fidayeen, or militant suicide squads, have carried out several attacks on security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir in the past few months.

Earlier this week, seven people were killed in a militant suicide raid on a police camp in Srinagar.

The dead included four policemen, two militants and a civilian.

In January, 11 people were killed when an attack on the main civilian and military airport in Srinagar was foiled.

The attacks come despite an Indian Government ceasefire that has been in place since last November.

The government says it is part of its peace initiative in Kashmir.

But the militants rejected the offer saying it was a ploy by the government to gain international sympathy.