Srinagar, Aug 2: Two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Akhal forest area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, officials said on Saturday.
The operation was launched Friday evening after security forces received specific intelligence about the presence of terrorists in the area. An initial exchange of fire took place before the operation was paused for the night. Additional reinforcements were brought in, and the cordon was further tightened.
A senior police official said that firing resumed early Saturday morning, resulting in the elimination of two terrorists. Their identities and group affiliations are being verified. The operation was still underway, he said.
Another official said that one among the terrorists was identified as HarisNazir Dar, who is resident of Pulwama has been eliminated by SFs during the Kulgam encounter.
Chinar Corps of the Indian Army posted on its official X handle said that “Intermittent and Intense fire fight continued through the night. Alert troops responded with caliberated fire and tightened the noose while maintaining contact, he said.
J&K DGP NalinPrabhat also arrived at the spot where an encounter between the security forces and terrorists is underway in the AkhalDevsar area of Kulgam district. SOG, J&K Police, Army and CRPF are carrying out the operation.
Operation Akhal is the third major encounter in the last seven days. Earlier on Wednesday, two terrorists were eliminated during Operation Shivshakti, in a gunfight with security forces near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district, following an infiltration attempt.
The encounter began on Tuesday night in the Kalsian-Gulpur area after Indian forces intercepted a group of terrorists attempting to infiltrate the border.
On July 28, three Pakistani terrorists were killed during an encounter in J&K’s forested Lidwas area near Harwan, located on the outskirts of Srinagar. The operation named ‘Operation Mahadev’ eliminated the terrorists who were behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
One of the terrorists was identified as Suleiman, the mastermind of the Pahalgam attack, while the others were identified as Afghan and Jibran. All of the terrorists encountered in the operation were senior operatives of the Pakistan-based banned group Lashkar-e-Taiba, Shah said.
