SRINAGAR: Three militants have been killed by security forces in a fierce encounter in the upper reaches of Dachigam forest area of Harwan in Srinagar on July 28.
Sources said that one of the slain militants is believed to be Pakistani militant Sulaiman alias Hashim Musa. Musa, a former Pakistani army commando, was among the three LeT/TRF militants involved in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
He (Musa) is said to be the mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack.
However, there has been no official confirmation yet about the killing of Hashim Musa or any other Pahalgam terror attackers.
A security official said that acting on an intelligence input, Army, police and paramilitary CRPF personnel launched a joint combing and search operation in the upper reaches of Dachigam forest area at Harwan in Srinagar this morning.
“We had a information that a group of 2 to 3 militants were hiding in the area. As the search operation was going on, security personnel came under fire from militants hiding in the area. The troops retaliated, triggering an encounter,” he said.
The security personnel used drones during the encounter to track the movement of militants in the forest area.
In the fierce gunfight, three militants were killed, Srinagar-based Army’s 15 Corps (Chinar Corps) posted on its X handle. The slain militants belonged to Lashkar-e-Toiba/TRF, a security official said.
Sources said the bodies of the three militants have been recovered.
“Arms and ammunition were also recovered from their possession”.
IGP Kashmir V K Birdi said the operation in the Harwan area is continuing.
“During the operation, J&K police, army and paramilitary forces had an exchange of fire with militants in the upper reaches, and three terrorists have been killed and their bodies are being recovered,” he said.
The IGP refused to share further information, stating the operation is going on, stating that he can’t divulge much at this moment. "We will share details at an opportune time,” he said.
When asked whether two of them were involved in the Pahalgam terror attack, he said, “It will take us some time for identification.”
It would be a major success for the security forces if the militants involved in the Pahalgam terror attack were killed in the encounter.
On April 22, a group of LeT/TRF militants had attacked tourists at Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadows, which is also known as mini Switzerland, by killing 25 tourists of different states and a local ponywala, Syed Ali Shah who attempted to snatch a rifle from one of the attackers.
To avenge the Pahalgam attack, the Indian military on May 7 launched Operation Sindoor to target and destroy terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK.