In a significant counter-terrorism breakthrough, six terrorists, including three affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), were killed in two major anti-terror operations jointly carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Indian Army, and the CRPF over the past 48 hours in the Kashmir Valley.
At a joint press conference, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Zone V K Birdi identified one of the slain militants as Shahid Kuttee, a key figure in recent terror activities in the region. “He was involved in two major attacks, including one on a German tourist,” Birdi said. “He also had a hand in (terror) funding activities. We are committed to ending the terror ecosystem here.”
Birdi credited the success of these operations to the revised strategy of intensified coordination among the various security forces following a surge in terror-related incidents in the Valley.
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Major General Dhananjay Joshi of the Indian Army, also present at the media briefing, provided details about the operation in the higher reaches of Kelar, launched on May 12. “Based on specific intelligence inputs, our teams identified terrorist movement on the morning of May 13. When challenged, the terrorists opened fire. Three were killed in the ensuing firefight,” he said.
The second encounter unfolded in a border village in Tral, following another specific tip-off. “When we were laying a cordon, the terrorists, hiding in different houses, fired at us,” Joshi said. “Our first priority was the safety of the civilian villagers. Once we rescued them, we systematically searched and neutralised three terrorists.”
These operations come shortly after the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, escalating tensions between India and Pakistan and prompting retaliatory Indian strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). A temporary pause on military operations has since been announced, but the recent counter-terror action signals a renewed focus on eliminating terror threats within J&K.
The security establishment emphasized its zero-tolerance approach toward terrorism and reiterated its goal to dismantle the entire terror network operating in the region.
