Naveed Jatt, who killed journalist Shujaat Bukhari, shot dead

Srinagar: A top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, Naveed Jatt, who was wanted for the murder of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari, was killed on Wednesday in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district, police sources said.

Although an official confirmation was still awaited, the sources said that Jatt, alias Abu Hanzullah, was among the a still-undertermined number of militants killed in the gunfight that broke out earlier in the day during a cordon-and-search operation in Kuthpora village.

A Pakistani national belonging to Multan, Jatt, had escaped from police custody on February 6, when he was being taken for a medical check-up to a hospital from the Srinagar Central Jail.

Two policeman were also killed during Jatt's escape from the S.M.H.S. hospital here.

Jatt was among the top LeT militants wanted by the security forces.

He is believed to be involved in the murder of Bukhari, the then Editor-in-chief of Rising Kashmir, an English daily.

Bukhari was gunned down along with two of his guards outside his office at Press Enclave in Srinagar in the Press Enclave area in the city on June 14.

Jatt He was also involved in terror attacks at Army, CRPF and police personnel.

The killing of Jatt is seen as a big success for the security forces in their anti-militancy operations.