A terrorist, Saifullah, associated with the Khurasan module of the dreaded terror outfit ISIS, was killed after 12 hours of anti-terror operation by the Uttar Pradesh Police's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) commandos in Lucknow's Thakurganj area.

"After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said.

"In the darkness, we suspected there were two terror suspects. After opening the doors of the house, the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," senior Uttar Pradesh police officer Daljit Chaudhary said  last night.

Eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammo, 50 fired rounds, explosive materials, gold, cash, passports and SIM cards were recovered.

"The slain terror suspect belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and was an active member. But, whether he has been indoctrinated or not is a matter of investigation,"  IG ATS Aseem Arun said.

Arun said, "Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilly bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out."

"The danger was grave, but we managed to avert it... Had we caught him alive, we would have extracted more information, but we had no choice," Mr Arun said.

The ATS commandos stormed inside the house (after issuing a warning to the terrorist), Arun said, adding "The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandos, which was then appropriately retaliated by the ATS commandos. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead."

By Premji