SRINAGAR: Five terrorists have been reported to have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district in Kashmir, on Friday.
The slain terrorists have been identified as Sameer Ahmad Sheikh, Yasir Bilal Bhat, Danish Ahmad Thokar, Hanzullah Yaqoob Shah and Ubaid Ahmad Padder, who belonged to the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, and had been active since 2021.
The New Indian learned from officials that shots were fired in the wee hours of Friday morning after a night-long lull at the Samno pocket in the district of Kulgam. The safehouse where the terrorists were hiding caught fire in the exchange, leading them to step outside when the encounters took place.
FLASH: Rayees Bhat, the DIG of South #Kashmir, in relation to the Kulgam Encounter revealed that the terrorists neutralised in the operation today were involved in a series of attacks on minority community members, security forces personnel and non local labourers.
Reports… pic.twitter.com/2slHqw2xGT
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) November 17, 2023
The security personnel had surrounded the village at night, with additional lights being installed near the encounter site.
Rayees Bhat, the Deputy Inspector General of South Kashmir police, while speaking to the media, said, “This operation has come after a lot of synergised effort of all the security forces that operate in the area and it is a big success because these terrorists have been involved in a number of attacks on minorities.”
Bhat added that the terrorists were involved in the attack in April of 2021 in which Sonu Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit, was killed. Moreover, he also said that the encountered five were also involved in multiple attacks in Shopian district as well, across minority pockets. “They were also involved in an attack on a minority pocket in Herpora Batagund, Shopian and a cordon party in Keegam Shopian. These terrorists were also involved in an attack on non local labourers at Gagran Shopian and an attack at Chotigam,” he said.
The joint operation was carried out by the Indian Army’s 34 Rashtriya Rifles, 9 Para (elite special forces unit), the Jammu and Kashmir police, and the Central Reserved Police Force on Thursday.
During the operation, four AK-47 rifles, two pistols and four grenades were recovered, along with other arms and ammunition.