Security forces in Kashmir on Wednesday gunned down a “most wanted” Pakistani militant who had trained with 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab and was involved in several murders, including that of journalist Shujaat Bukhari.

Naveed Jatt, 20, was among two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants who were killed in a gunfight in the Kuthpora Chattergam area of central Kashmir’s Budgam, a day after the 10th anniversary of the Mumbai attacks. A video doing the rounds on social media showed a third militant escaping with the help of locals.

Jatt would taunt the forces by releasing videos at regular intervals. In one video, he was seen walking near security installations in Anantnag town. The latest video showed him running through a snow forest in green combat uniform, giving a mock weather report.

Protests against Jatt’s death rocked several parts of the Valley. Students of Kashmir University staged protests and held funeral prayers in absentia for him.

Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbagh Singh said Jatt was Lashkar’s operational chief commander and his killing was a “very big achievement” for the forces and the civilians alike. “(That is) because the atrocities committed at his instance had reached a peak,” he told reporters.

Singh said the forces had killed two dozen militants in a week in south Kashmir, which could be the highest for such a period in years. The list includes some top commanders.

The DGP said that since Jatt was a Pakistani, the police would write to the Indian government to hand over the body to Pakistan.

A police spokesperson said a cordon-and-search operation had been launched in Kuthpora Chattergam in the predawn hours based inputs about the presence of militants there. The militants fired at the forces, sparking a gunfight in which the two terrorists were killed.

“He (Jatt) was wanted by the law for his complicity in a series of terror crimes, including the killing of journalist Shujaat Bukhari, attacks on security establishments and many civilian atrocities,” the spokesperson said.

“Naveed Jatt alias Hanzalla was born in Multan, Pakistan. He was part of terrorist Ajmal Kasab’s group at a madarsa in Pakistan where they received arms training,” the spokesperson added.

Jatt had infiltrated the Valley in October 2012, a month before Kasab was hanged. Jatt was allegedly involved in the killing of an assistant sub-inspector in May 2013, a CRPF jawan in August 2013, two policemen in March 2014 and a poll presiding officer in April 2014, in addition to several militant attacks.

Jatt had been arrested in June 2014. In February this year, militants freed him from a hospital where he had been taken for a check-up. Two policemen died in the attack.

In the nine months since then, Jatt carried out a number of attacks, including the assassination of journalist Bukhari and his two guards in Srinagar in June. Azad Malik, another militant involved in the killing, was killed earlier this month. A third militant is at large.