Curfew was on Wednesday clamped in four districts of Kashmir Valley to foil a march by the separatists to the United Nations office in Srinagar demanding withdrawal of troops from Jammu and Kashmir.
An Imam was shot at and killed in south Kashmir's Pulwama town on Friday evening. The incident came hours after a police official was shot at and killed in the town's busy market place.
The gun battle broke out at Imamsahib in Shopian, around 60 km from Srinagar, when troops engaged in combing operation were fired upon, the sources said.
Sheikh Sajjad Gul, the head of Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy The Resistance Front (TRF), has been identified as the mastermind behind the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people in April. Gul, who is based in Pakistan, has a history of planning terror attacks in Kashmir, including targeted killings, grenade attacks, and ambushes of police personnel. He was designated a terrorist by the NIA in 2022 and a reward of Rs 10 lakh was placed on his head. The TRF claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, where tourists were shot at point-blank range after being asked their religion. Gul's history includes a 2002 arrest in Delhi for planning serial blasts and a subsequent 10-year prison sentence. After his release, he moved to Pakistan and became the leader of the TRF in 2019, a move orchestrated by the ISI to present a facade of an indigenous terror movement in Jammu and Kashmir.
Two militants of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba outfit were killed in a fierce encounter in south Kashmir Pulwama district on Sunday evening, a defence spokesman said.
"As the security forces were busy searching the area, the militants in hiding opened fire triggering a gunfight which is on. So far one militant has been killed," the officer said.
Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has warned India of a strong response, saying Pakistan will respond to a "brick with a stone" if India takes any action against Pakistan, amid heightened tensions following the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. Dar alleged that India might have staged the Pahalgam attack to abolish the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and warned that any attempt by India to interfere with the treaty would be considered an act of war. He also said that Pakistan had no involvement in the Pahalgam incident and is getting support from countries like Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Hungary.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started interviewing eyewitnesses, including tourists, in connection with the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, south Kashmir. The attack, carried out by terrorists from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed the lives of 26 people on April 22. Initial investigations suggest that five to seven terrorists were involved, aided by local militants trained in Pakistan. Security forces are conducting massive operations to hunt down the terrorists in the dense jungles of the Pir Panjal range.
Terror outfits in Jammu and Kashmir are now constructing elaborately-designed underground bunkers deep inside thick forests and elevated ridges instead of taking shelter in local houses, officials said. This tactical shift, fuelled by eroding local support, presents a new challenge to the Army and other security forces.
Waiz-ul-Islam, 19, of Srinagar's Bagh-e-Mehtab locality and Mohammad Abbass Rather, 32, of Hakripora village in Pulwama district were arrested by the NIA, the official said.
National Conference leader and former Sarpanch, Fayaz Ahmad Bhat died on Sunday afternoon after he was shot by to motorbike-borne assailants.
Two civilians including a girl were wounded in an ongoing gunfight between militants holed up in a house and security forces in south Kashmir Pulwama district.
The listed terrorists have been identified as Ashiq Hussain Ganaie of Panjran Pulwama and Imran Ahmad Bhat of Arihal Pulwama.
The Jammu and Kashmir authorities have already snapped mobile internet services across the valley as a precautionary measure, in anticipation of a possible a law and order problem, police said, adding that there are strict restrictions on the movement of people.
Militants killed a civilian in the Kakpora town of south Kashmir Pulwama district late on Sunday night, according to the police.
US President Donald Trump strongly condemned the terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam in a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed full support to India to bring to justice the perpetrators of the "heinous attack". Trump conveyed his deepest condolences at the loss of innocent lives in the terror attack and said that India and the United States stand together in the fight against terror. The attack, which killed 26 people, mostly holidayers from other states, is the deadliest in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. Modi, who was on a two-day state visit to Saudi Arabia, cut short his visit and returned to New Delhi on Tuesday night after the attack.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Dadsara area of Tral on Wednesday night, following information about the presence of terrorists there, the official said.
Stone-pelting mobs on Thursday clashed with security forces in Kashmir valley, leading to the death of one person in police firing and injuries to four others in the violence. There was no relaxation in curfew which continued in all the ten districts of the valley for the seventh day today.Protestors attacked two police posts in Sopore and Habakaddal and set a state road transport corporation office afire in Baramulla, said the police.
Jammu and Kashmir is facing a severe water crisis this year due to a massive rainfall deficit. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concern about the situation and called for a proactive approach towards water management and conservation. The state has witnessed an 80% deficit in rainfall this year, raising the possibility of drought in the valley this summer. Several water bodies are flowing below the zero level mark, and some springs in south Kashmir have dried up completely. The water level in Jhelum and other major streams is alarmingly low.
The army has quietly moved an entire brigade into south Kashmir to clear it of militants and protesters.
Normal life was hit for the second consecutive day on Tuesday due to a march called by a group of separatists to the residence of a Kashmiri student, who was found hanging in his hostel room in Hyderabad.
Militants shot at and wounded an activist of the ruling National Conference in Koil village of south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday evening.
The attack took place in Pinglana area of the south Kashmir district.
'The Indian Army won't induct anyone who has killed Indian soldiers.' 'That's why the army respects these reformed men so much -- they're on the frontline now, protecting India.'
Three militants were killed in a fierce gunfight in south Kashmir Pulwama district on Tuesday.
One person was critically wounded when police opened fire and resorted to teargas and baton charges on a violent mob near the site of a daylong encounter between security forces and Lashkar-e-Tayiba militants in Khar Mohalla near Puchal in south Kashmir Pulwama district on Thursday evening.
India's sporting fraternity, including Olympic medalists Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu, expressed grief and condemnation over the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir.
Dar, a resident of Solina in Srinagar, was arrested by the Intelligence Bureau sleuths from the Gas Turbine terminal at Pampore in South Kashmir's Pulwama district Saturday evening.
CSK to donate proceeds from IPL opener to Pulwama martyrs' families
The NIA on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against eight people allegedly involved in a conspiracy hatched by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed to carry out terror acts against security forces in the Valley, an official spokesperson said.
'The wave of terrorism is over in Kashmir. Local people do not support it.'
Militants shot at and killed a Sarpanch (village headman) in Gulzarpora village of south Kashmir Pulwama district, part of the Anantnag parliamentary constituency which goes to polls on April 24.
The launch of the first-ever direct train service from Delhi to Kashmir would be a big turning point in the Valley's mood and its integration with India. He had to thwart it at any cost, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Kashmir's first INOX multiplex in Srinagar's Somwar area will be thrown open to the public next week.
Twenty-seven months after she lost her husband in an anti-insurgency operation in south Kashmir's Pulwama, 29-year-old Nitika Kaul on Saturday donned the army uniform after completing a one-year rigorous training in Tamil Nadu.
Kumar also said in the last three years, the Jaish-e-Mohammed has been "wiped out" in the Kashmir Valley. Only seven to eight terrorists are active now, he said.
An encounter broke out on Wednesday between militants and security forces in Awanitpora area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district but no casualties have been reported so far.
Jammu and Kashmir has been hit by three terror attacks in three hours. Unidentified gunmen shot at a civilian in Tral in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Monday.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Arampora village in Awantipora area of the south Kashmir district this morning following specific intelligence about the presence of terrorists there, a police official said.
Shah, 34, was working with the Jammu and Kashmir Police as a Special Police Officer and had been given an out-of-turn promotion and selected as a constable.
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