Armed Forces Kill Three Terrorists In Two J&K Gunfights | Latest news India

Also read: ‘Black day in Jammu and Kashmir today,’ claims Mehbooba Mufti

According to officials, a joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the J&K Police launched a cordon and search operation in the Khanyar locality of Srinagar after receiving information about the presence of terrorists in the old city. The troops were fired upon while trying to enter a house, leading to the first major encounter in the summer capital of J&K in two years, they added.

Also read: Jammu and Kashmir: ‘Foreigner’ among two terrorists killed in encounter with security forces in Anantnag

“A cordon and search operation in Khanyar area of ​​Srinagar district has resulted in an exchange of fire. Police and security forces are on the job,” J&K police reported on X in the morning.

Also read: Farooq Abdullah’s comment ‘terrorists should not be killed…’ leads to an argument. Sharad Pawar and J&K BJP respond

Footage from the encounter site showed smoke pouring from a house as the armed forces and the hidden terrorist exchanged fire. In the evening, security officials said the commander of Pakistan-based terror group LeT, which was involved in the killing of a J&K police inspector last year, was shot dead during the encounter.

“Security forces killed a terrorist identified as Usman, he was a commander of LeT. He is a foreign terrorist and his role and involvement in the murder of Inspector Masroor has been exposed. Further investigation is underway in this regard,” Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) VK Birdi said.

J&K Police Inspector Masroor Ahmad Wani was shot three times at close range by a terrorist at a cricket ground in Srinagar in October last year. He initially underwent treatment at Paras Hospital in Srinagar but was later airlifted and shifted to the trauma ward of AIIMS, Delhi. The 34-year-old succumbed to his injuries after 40 days.

According to officials, Usman (who went by one name) was active in the Valley for a number of years, and his killing will deal a major blow to LeT and its offshoot, The Resistance Front (TRF).

“Usman was also the right-hand man of Sajad Gul, the TRF commander in Pakistan,” said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity.

Officials added that two CRPF jawans and two personnel of the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the J&K Police were also injured during the operation. They were shifted to the Army Hospital where their condition was stable. Before Saturday, the last major encounter broke out in Srinagar in September 2022 when two terrorists of Al Qaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind were gunned down by security forces.

As security forces battled extremists in Srinagar, a joint team of the Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and J&K Police launched a search operation in Kashmir’s Anantnag district, about 80 kilometers away, after receiving information about the presence of terrorists. in the Halkan Gali area. During the search operation, the terrorists fired at the security personnel, resulting in a gunfight.

“Suspicious movements in the vicinity of Halkan Gali were observed and challenged by vigilant forces, resulting in terrorists opening indiscriminate fire on their own column. Friendly forces effectively retaliated resulting in the elimination of two terrorists,” the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said in a post on X. The identities of the slain terrorists were yet to be established.

Saturday’s gunfight comes against the backdrop of a series of terror attacks and encounters in J&K after the first elected government since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 was sworn in on October 16. Earlier this week, security forces gunned down three terrorists after a group of extremists indiscriminately opened fire on an Army ambulance in a village near the Line of Control (LoC) in Akhnoor sector of Jammu district. On October 24, two soldiers and two civilian porters were killed after terrorists ambushed an army convoy in Baramulla district of Kashmir. Four days earlier, seven people were killed when terrorists opened fire on a construction camp in the Valley’s Ganderbal district. On October 18, Ashok Chauhan, a 37-year-old migrant worker from Bihar, was shot dead by suspected terrorists in Shopian district of south Kashmir.

The attacks have shattered the fragile peace in J&K during the election cycle and revived security concerns in a region that has been embroiled in gun battles throughout the year. J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called “the recent spate of attacks in Kashmir a matter of serious concern” and urged security forces to remain alert.

On Saturday, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the increase in extremist attacks was not due to a security lapse. “This is not a matter of safety concerns. Our security forces are on alert and a situation will arise where terror activities will be completely wiped out and J&K will develop at a rapid pace,” he said in Kanpur.

This year, nine staff and 15 civilians have been killed in terror attacks in Kashmir. Security forces have killed 24 terrorists in the Valley during the same period. During the same period, 15 security personnel and 11 civilians were killed in separate attacks in Jammu. Security forces have shot ten terrorists in the region.

Meanwhile, search operations continued in Bandipora district after suspected terrorists opened fire on defense personnel and fled. “On November 1, 2024, late in the evening, suspicious movements were spotted by alert troops in Panar area of ​​Bandipora. When challenged, terrorists opened fire indiscriminately and fled into the jungle. Search operation underway,” the Chinar Corps reported on X.