New Delhi: Three terrorists linked to the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed were killed in an encounter with security forces on Thursday morning in the Nader, Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
The gunfight began early in the day after security forces launched a cordon and search operation based on intelligence inputs about the presence of two to three militants in the area. The encounter took place in Awantipora, a sub-district of Pulwama.
The Kashmir Zone Police confirmed the operation in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “#Encounter has started at Nader, Tral area of #Awantipora. Police and security forces are on the job.”
This is the second major counter-terrorism operation in Jammu and Kashmir within three days. On Tuesday, three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were neutralised in a similar encounter in the Shopian district.
The militants killed in Tuesday’s operation were identified as Shahid Kuttay, Adnan Shafi—both residents of Shopian—and Haris Nazir from Pulwama. Kuttay was the chief operational commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its offshoot, The Resistance Front (TRF). Shafi was also a senior TRF commander.
Kuttay had a long history of militancy and was involved in multiple high-profile attacks, including the April 2024 shooting at the Danish resort, where two German tourists and a driver were injured. He was also responsible for the assassination of a BJP Sarpanch in Shopian in May 2023.
Security forces have stepped up operations across Jammu and Kashmir amid increasing attempts by foreign-backed terror outfits to disrupt peace in the region.
