Srinagar, Apr 26: Three more houses of active terrorists have been demolished by authorities, in what is being seen as part of a broader crackdown following the deadly terrorist Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead.
The houses were razed between Friday and Saturday night in the districts of Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam in south Kashmir, officials said.
A police official said that the house of Ahsan ul Haq Sheikh in the Muran area of Pulwama was torn down. They claimed Sheikh had been “trained in Pakistan” in 2018 and had recently “infiltrated” into the Valley.
He said Sheikh had been trained in Pakistan in 2018 and had recently infiltrated into the Valley.
In Chotipora, Shopian, the residence of Shahid Ahmad Kuttay, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander active for the past three to four years, was demolished. Officials said Kuttay had been involved in several anti-national activities.
Similarly, the house of Zakir Ahmad Ganie in Matalhama, Kulgam, was razed. Ganie, they said, had been active since 2023 and was under surveillance for alleged involvement in multiple terror-related cases.
This latest action comes just a day after two other houses were destroyed when explosives believed to be stored inside detonated during searches. The residences belonged to Aadil Hussain Thokar and Asif Sheikh — both accused of involvement in the Pahalgam attack in Bijbehara and Tral, respectively.
With these demolitions, authorities have now targeted five residences linked to accused terrorists in less than 48 hours.
Meanwhile Security forces have intensified their combing operations after a deadly terrorist attack in the Baisaran, area of Pahalgam in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, which left 26 civilians dead and 17 injured on Tuesday.
The attack has triggered a full-scale security response across the region, particularly in tourist hubs, amid peak travel season.
Located about 85 kilometres from Srinagar, the site of the attack has become the epicentre of a massive joint search operation by the Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Jammu and Kashmir Police.
