At least three unidentified terrorists were killed in a fierce gun battle with security forces in the forests of Harwan near Dachigam in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, officials said.
The anti-terror Operation Mahadev took place in the general area of Lidwas, the Chinar Corps of the Indian Army said.
“OP MAHADEV – Update: Three terrorists have been neutralised in an intense firefight. Operation Continues,” Srinagar-based Chinar Corps of the Army posted on X.
The identity and group affiliation of the slain terrorists were being ascertained.
Security forces had launched a massive operation to track down the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead, and intelligence inputs over the past month had suggested that the terrorists might have moved towards the Dachigam area, which is around 20 km from Srinagar`s city centre.
However, it was not immediately clear if the three slain terrorists were involved in the April 22 attack.
The security forces, acting on an intelligence input, launched an anti-militancy operation in the Mulnar area of Harwan on Monday morning. Two rounds of gunshots were heard from a distance as security forces were carrying out searches of the area.
Reinforcements were rushed to the area, and the combing operations intensified, which led to the elimination of the three terrorists.
Chhattisgarh: 4 Maoists killed in Bijapur encounter; security forces recover arms and ammunition
In a significant counter-insurgency operation success, four reward-carrying Maoists were killed during a prolonged encounter with security forces in the dense forest region of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh, the police said on Sunday (July 27), reported IANS.
The operation, launched by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) on July 26, was based on specific intelligence inputs regarding Maoist activity near the Basaguda and Gangaloor police station limits in the district’s south-western corridor.
The gunfight began in the evening and continued intermittently through the night. Among the deceased were two women cadres, all affiliated with the South Sub Zonal Bureau of the banned CPI (Maoist), said the official, reported IANS.
The slain insurgents were identified as Hunga (ACM, Platoon 10), Lakkhe (ACM, Platoon 30), Bhime (ACM), and Nihal alias Rahul, a party member and bodyguard to the Bureau Communication Head. Collectively, they carried a bounty of Rs 17 lakh.
Security personnel recovered a substantial cache of arms and ammunition from the site, including one SLR rifle, one INSAS rifle, one .303 rifle, a 12 bore gun, a BGL launcher, a single-shot 315 bore rifle, and an AK-47, reported IANS.
In addition, multiple magazines, live rounds, grenades, BGL cells, Maoist literature, and daily-use items were seized.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)