2 terrorists killed in overnight encounter in J&K's Kulgam
The overnight encounter began after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in a forest area at Akhal in the south Kashmir district, following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists there.
After an initial exchange of fire between the two sides on Friday evening, the operation was halted for the night, the officials said.
The cordon was strengthened, and additional reinforcements were rushed to the area.
Firing resumed on Saturday morning, during which two terrorists were killed, the officials said.
The identity and group affiliation of the slain terrorists are being ascertained, they added, noting that the operation is still underway.
Operation Akhal is the third major encounter in the last seven days. Earlier on Wednesday, two terrorists were eliminated during Operation Shivshakti, in a gunfight with security forces near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, following an infiltration attempt. The encounter began on Tuesday night in the Kalsian-Gulpur area after Indian forces intercepted a group of terrorists attempting to infiltrate the border.
On July 28, three Pakistani terrorists were killed during an encounter in J&K's forested Lidwas area near Harwan, located on the outskirts of Srinagar. The operation named 'Operation Mahadev' eliminated the terrorists who were behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
One of the terrorists was identified as Suleiman, the mastermind of the Pahalgam attack, while the others were identified as Afghan and Jibran. All three were senior operatives of the Pakistan-based banned group Lashkar-e-Toiba. (With PTI inputs)
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