Srinagar:Hizbul Mujahideen self styled top commander Talib Lali was arrested from his native Ajas in Bandipore on Wednesday.

He was arrested along with two other suspects after the security forces launched search operations in Ajas area today morning after receiving inputs that some top Hizb militants were present there.

There was a brief exchange of fire between the militants and the security forces before Lali and his two associates – Abdul Rashid Lali and Showkat Ahmad Mir – were arrested. No one was injured in the firing.

41-year-old Talib Lali was one of the longest surviving Hizbul terrorist in the valley with deep rooted contacts in the terror network that works on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan. He was active for the past 15 years and had risen through the ranks to be one among the top hierarchy of the terror outfit.

As per reports, some arms and ammunition have been recovered from the terrorists who have now been whisked away to an undisclosed location for questioning.

Lali, also known as Waseem and Abu Umer, was allegedly involved in procuring regular and systematic funding from across the border for Hizbul, to promote terrorist activities in India.

As per the reports, the funding from across the border was allegedly being routed through Jammu & Kashmir Affectees Relief Trust (JKART), a frontal organization of Hizbul Mujahideen.