A day after eliminating the Pakistan-based "launching commander" on the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, security forces killed five Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists in south Kashmir's Kulgam district during 24 24-hour long fierce gun battle.
The encounter which started on Thursday afternoon was still ongoing till the filing of this report.
According to police, five LeT terrorists have been gunned down in the ongoing firefight with security forces in the Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir police, the operation is in its final stages and the area is being sanitized.
"Five terrorists neutralized by Kulgam Police, Army, and CRPF. Incriminating materials were recovered. Operation in the final stage; area being sanitized," Kashmir Zone Police posted on its official social media account on X handle.
The killed terrorists have been identified as Owais Wani of Chawalgam Kulgam, Danish of Chakoora Shopian, Yasir Bilal of Wanpoh Kulgam, Ubaid of Chakoora Shopian and Hanzullaha of Rawalpora Shopian.
Contact was established with terrorists on Thursday.
Security forces have, earlier, trapped a group of five terrorists at Samnoo village of Damhal Hanjippra belt in Kulgam district.
An official said that a joint team of Police, Army's 34 Rashtriya Rifles, and CRPF cordoned off Samnoo village on Thursday afternoon after inputs about the presence of a group of terrorists in the village.
As the security forces approached the suspected spot, the hiding terrorists fired upon them, which was retaliated, thus triggering an encounter.
"Kulgam Update - Day 2: Five #terrorists neutralized by Kulgam Police, Army, and CRPF. #Incriminating materials recovered. #Operation in final stage; area being sanitized.@JmuKmrPolice https://t.co/mcZ5EoU1XK
— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) November 17, 2023
The operation got delayed due to the darkness while the cordon layers were tightened to ensure the terrorists weren't able to flee.
"Lights were installed to keep a watch on the spot where terrorists were hiding.
After the first light this morning, the operation was started which resulted in the elimination of all the trapped terrorists.
Earlier "launching commander" of terror outfits eliminated on LoC
Security forces on Thursday achieved a big success by eliminating two dreaded Pakistani terrorists instrumental in pushing infiltrators on this side of the Line of Control (LoC) from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
According to reports, two terrorists killed on the LoC in the Uri sector of Baramulla district on Wednesday were Pakistani nationals, and their identities were established as Bashir Ahmad Malik and Ahmad Gani Sheikh.
Bashir Ahmad was a PoJK-based terrorist who was assigned the job of managing launching pads established on the LoC to ensure the infiltration of trained terrorists on this side of the border.
Ahmad Gani Sheikh was the deputy launching commander who was assisting Bashir Ahmad Malik.
Malik has been actively involved in terrorism for the last three decades.
