poonch-encounter-two-terrorists-killed-in-cross-firing

Two terrorists were shot dead in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Monday morning, just two days after security forces gunned down three men linked to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead.

 

Officials said the two terrorists killed in Poonch were affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit.

 

Earlier in the day, the Army’s White Knight Corps posted an update on X, confirming troops had detected suspicious movement near the fence in the Poonch sector.

 

“Suspected movement of two individuals was observed by own troops along the fence in gen area of #Poonch Sector. Gunfire exchanged. Operation under progress,” the Corps said.

 

Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General of Police, Nalin Prabhat, later confirmed to NDTV that the terrorists had infiltrated into India before they were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces.

 

The fresh encounter follows a major breakthrough in the Pahalgam terror case. On Saturday, security forces shot dead three terrorists near Srinagar who were allegedly responsible for the April 22 attack in Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley. The attack claimed the lives of 26 innocent civilians.

 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking in Parliament during a debate on Operation Sindoor, said the three terrorists killed in Operation Mahadev — identified as Suleiman, Afghani and Jibran — were the same men behind the Pahalgam massacre.

 

Explaining how the link was confirmed, Shah said the National Investigation Agency had earlier arrested those who gave shelter to the attackers. “When their bodies were brought to Srinagar, we got them to identify the bodies,” he said.

 

To further establish the link, the Home Minister said forensic teams matched bullet shells found at the Pahalgam site with the weapons seized from the terrorists.

 

“After these terrorists were killed, their rifles were seized. One was an M9, the other two were AK-47s. We got these rifles flown to Chandigarh central FSL (forensic science laboratory) on a special plane. We generated empty bullet shells by firing these rifles and then matched them with those found in Pahalgam. It was then confirmed that these three rifles were used to murder our innocent civilians,” Shah said.

 

“There is no room for doubt. I am holding the ballistic report, six scientists have cross-checked it and confirmed to me over video call that the bullets fired at Pahalgam and the bullets fired from these guns are a 100 per cent match,” Shah told Parliament.