A top Pakistani commander of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who was active in the Valley for several years was killed and four security personnel were injured in an encounter in the Khanyar area of Srinagar on Saturday, officials said.
Security forces on Sunday intensified their operation to flush out terrorists from the forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on the second day of encounter that has left two soldiers and a civilian dead.
Despite a massive search operation, terrorists affiliated with Kashmir Tigers, a shadow group of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit, who have recently infiltrated into the country, remain untraced.
Terrorists had laid an ambush and fired indiscriminately when the troops approached the village.
An unidentified terrorist and a soldier were killed in an overnight encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, officials said on Wednesday.
The security forces are on high alert after Tuesday's terror attack in Pahalgam left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead.
Police officials said the two operations were launched on August 28 based on specific inputs by Kupwara Police a day earlier.
The body of Territorial Army jawan Hilal Ahmad Bhat, who was reported missing on Tuesday from Shah, was recovered from Sanglan forest area in Utrasoo area of Anantnag, the officials said.
Candlelight marches were held at several places in Kashmir to condemn the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed. The protests were held in Pahalgam, Srinagar, Sopore, Ganderbal, Handwara, Kupwara, Baramulla, and Bandipora, officials said. The protestors said the marches were to express solidarity with the victims of the attack and send a message of unity.
"More than 85,000 domiciles have been issued to non-locals, creating a pathway for demographic change in Jammu & Kashmir. These non-locals arrive posing as tourists, obtain domiciles, and then begin to act as if they own the land. Consequently, violence will be directed toward those attempting to settle illegally," TRF said in a statement which could not be independently verified by Rediff.
The bodies of two village defence guards (VDG) killed by terrorists were found near a rivulet on Friday during a massive search operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, officials said.
The hideout was busted during a joint search operation by army and special operations group of J-K police at Suranthal in Marhote area of Surankote late Sunday evening, the officials said.
'The jungles of Doda covers about 250 km.' 'Sleeper cells are providing active help to the terrorists.' 'The terrain and situation is such that it is not possible to keep track of every inch.'
Army troops thwarted a terrorist attack on a security post and house of a village defence guard (VDG) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district early Monday morning, officials said.
Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir resumed an anti-terrorist operation in Kathua district, a day after a deadly encounter killed three terrorists and three policemen. Seven others were injured in the gunbattle. The operation began on Thursday morning after a group of suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists infiltrated from across the International Border. While the bodies of three terrorists were found, the fate of two others remains unknown. The operation, centered near Jakhole village, saw intense clashes involving police, army, and CRPF forces.
'The terrorists are using better technology to secure their communication.' 'It does appear that excessive reliance on technology led to a weakening of human intelligence.'
Officials have also written to the Pakistan side regarding the medicines, an official statement said.
It was a joint operation by the army and Jammu Kashmir Police carried out on the intervening night of July 16-17 in the Krishna Ghati Sector of Poonch district, he said, adding arms and ammunition were also recovered from the site.
They said the terrorists opened fire on the vehicle at Botapathri near Nagin post.
India needs to be technologically and militarily prepared to defend itself from both Pakistan and China, alerts Ramesh Menon.
A search operation in Thanamandi belt turned into a fierce encounter after the terrorists opened fire on the forces, who retaliated, Army officials said.
According to officials, Naik Kuldeep Singh of Punjab was on guard duty when he was hit by a bullet in the head at Sunjawan Military Station on the outskirts of Jammu and was evacuated to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries.
Authorities in Kashmir have launched a massive crackdown on terrorists and their sympathisers in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, razing homes of the ultras, raiding their safe havens and detaining hundreds of overground workers for questioning, officials said on Saturday.
'...and the country should be impoverished completely.' 'Once this is done, the political class would take over and then play a part in real democracy where the army is under the control of the government, not vice-versa.'
Taken by surprise when heavily armed men ambushed their convoy but quickly gathering themselves, jawans of the 22 Garhwal regiment fired more than 5,100 rounds to protect their injured colleagues and forced the terrorists to retreat into Kathua's wooded hills, officials said.
Lt Gen Ghai said as for the process of documenting these weapons and informing those who need to know about them, "that is definitely continuing, and I can definitely authenticate that".
According to sources, a group of armed terrorists tried to enter into Battal forward area of the Krishnagati belt but alert troops picked up their movement and immediately took action.
The encounter took place when the troops of Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group of J&K Police launched a joint cordon and search operation at Dhari Gote Urarbagi in Desa forest belt, some 55 km from Doda town, late Monday evening, the officials said.
Additional security personnel were deployed in the Poonch district on Monday even as a search operation was ongoing in the forested terrain of Dera ki Gali, where two Army vehicles were ambushed by heavily armed terrorists from across the border last week.
They said police parties fanned out to find them amid reports that they had been abducted and killed by terrorists.
Additional Director General of Police, Jammu, Anand Jain and senior officers of the Army and intelligence agencies visited the ambush spot in the Surankote area. The Army also conducted aerial surveillance using a helicopter, they said.
A policeman was also injured in the gunfight that broke out in Bajaad village in the Gandoh area around 9:50 am.
Security forces on Saturday extended the ongoing search operation to new areas after the body of the fourth policeman and two slain terrorists were recovered from the scene of a gunfight in a remote forested area in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
Four recent encounters in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district have exposed the route used by terrorists to infiltrate into India from across the International Border (IB), a senior police officer said. The successful recovery of huge quantities of arms and ammunition, including explosives, after the gunfights has scuttled a major plan of the terror groups to carry out a major strike in Jammu and Kashmir.
To ensure a comprehensive probe, the search operation to track down the terrorists, has been expanded to cover Reasi district's far-flung Arnas and Mahore areas which were terrorist hotbeds between 1995 and 2005.
The Udhampur-based northern command is committed to eliminate the scourge of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the Army said on Tuesday, as it paid tribute to four soldiers who died in a gunfight with heavily armed terrorists in Doda district.
'Whatever we do, the purpose will be to re-establish deterrence.'
'The precision strikes were well planned and excellently executed. The world will be studying this operation.'
Five IAF personnel were injured in the attack on Saturday evening near Shahsitar and one of them later succumbed to injuries at a military hospital.
At least four terrorists were killed and two soldiers laid down their lives in twin encounters in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said.