Six LeT militants killed in Kashmir’s Kulgam in anti-terror ops

The security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Nehama village of Kulgam following information about the presence of terrorists in the area on Thursday, the officials said.

Srinagar: Six militants affiliated with Lashker-e-Toiba outfits were killed in two separate encounters with security forces across Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.

In one of the biggest anti-terror operations this year, security forces killed six LeT militants in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Friday.

“Kulgam Update - Day 2: Five #terrorists neutralized by Kulgam Police, Army, and CRPF. #Incriminating materials recovered. #Operation in final stage; area being sanitized (sic),” Kashmir Zone police posted on X.

The encounter broke out on Friday evening after a joint team of the army and Jammu and Kashmir police launched a cordon-and-search-operation (CASO) in Samno village of Kulgam.

As the joint team of forces zeroed towards the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired on the joint team, which retaliated, triggering off a gunfight, police said. The operation was suspended due to darkness in the area for precautionary measures and resumed this morning at the first light of the morning.

Gunshots were exchanged early Friday after a night-long lull. The house where the terrorists were hiding reportedly caught fire in the exchange of fire this morning, forcing the militants to come out.

Inspector General of police (IGP, Kashmir, Vidhi Kumar Birdi, said security forces got an intelligence input regarding the movement of some terrorists in Kulgam.

“During the search operation, a terrorist fired from a house after which an encounter broke out. So far, five terrorists, possibly of LeT, have been killed and some bodies have been sighted,” he told reporters.

The identity of the slain militants was not known immediately. However, all the six are believed to be locals affiliated with the LeT outfit.

In a separate encounter one militant was killed in a joint operation launched by J&K police, Army, and CRPF in Behrote area of border district Rajouri in Jammu. The identity of the lain terrorist is being ascertained.

The latest encounters came barely hours after two terrorists were killed along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Uri sector of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Wednesday.

One of the slain militants was identified as Bashir Ahmad Malik, who was involved in pushing the terrorists and supporting the infiltration to this side of the LoC for the past three decades

After seeing decline last year, infiltration attempts along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir is gradually increasing in 2023 with 42 militants, who were trying to infiltrate, killed this year.