India on Friday drew first blood in its operation to trace and eliminate perpetrators of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, with top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Altaf Lalli neutralised during a gunfight in Bandipora, Jammu and Kashmir.
A joint operation launched early Friday by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police, based on specific intelligence inputs, led to a fierce exchange of fire with terrorists holed up in the region. The gunfight resulted in the death of Lalli, a top LeT commander linked to recent terror activities.
The encounter comes amid intensified efforts to trace the LeT terrorists responsible for the brutal Pahalgam attack that killed 26 persons, including one Nepali national. The attackers, estimated to be four to five in number, had emerged from dense pine forests in the Baisaran Valley and fired indiscriminately at tourists using AK-47 rifles.
Two police personnel, reportedly part of a senior officer’s security detail, were injured in the initial exchange of fire. Sources indicated that one terrorist managed to escape, sustaining injuries.
Meanwhile, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi arrived in Srinagar on Friday to oversee security arrangements and review the progress of operations in Bandipora. He was briefed on the ground situation and is expected to conduct a comprehensive security assessment in the region.
In a separate development, security forces and local authorities demolished the homes of two terrorists believed to be linked to the Pahalgam carnage. In Bijbehara, the residence of LeT operative Adil Hussain Thoker was destroyed using improvised explosive devices, while in Tral, the house of another suspect, Asif Sheikh, was brought down with a bulldozer.
According to officials, Thoker played a central role in aiding Pakistani terrorists to plan and execute the attack in the tourist hotspot of Baisaran.
The Anantnag Police, meanwhile, announced a reward of ₹20 lakh for credible information on Thoker and two Pakistani nationals identified as Ali Bhai and Hashim Musa. Sketches of all three have been released, with search operations underway across southern Kashmir.
Survivors of the Baisaran attack recounted chilling details, stating that the terrorists were clad in military fatigues, demanded identification cards to verify religion, and proceeded to execute non-Muslim tourists at point-blank range.
The Friday operations mark an escalation in India’s counter-terror efforts, signalling a decisive response following the bloodbath in Pahalgam. Authorities maintain that the crackdown will intensify in the coming days as the hunt for the remaining terrorists continues.
Follow us
