A top Jaish-e-Mohammed commander was killed on Monday in a joint operation by security forces in Ladoora village of North Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir police said.

Security forces had launched a search operation in Ladoora based on specific information on the presence of militants in the area. The operation turned into a gunbattle, in which Umer Khalid, the militant, suffered injuries and later succumbed to them. The operation was carried out by a special team of the state police, the local police, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Army.

Khalid was involved in many attacks on security camps, policemen and civilians in the region, the police said in a statement. He is also believed to have been involved in the recent attack on a Border Security Force camp in Srinagar near the international airport, the police said.

A Pakistani national, Khalid was operational in the area for the last two to three years and also arranged recruits for the terror outfit, the police said. He was an “A++ category top-ranking” militant and also had a cash reward of nearly Rs 7 lakh on him.