Three Jaish-e-Mohammed Terrorists Killed in Pulwama Encounter; Second Gunfight in J&K in 72 Hours

 In a significant counterterrorism operation, security forces on Thursday morning neutralised three terrorists in an encounter at Nader, located in the Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district. The gunfight began after intelligence inputs suggested the presence of two to three operatives from the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in the region.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police, in coordination with other security agencies, launched a cordon and search operation that escalated into a fierce exchange of fire. “#Encounter has started at Nader, Tral area of #Awantipora. Police and security forces are on the job,” Kashmir Zone Police posted on X (formerly Twitter). Awantipora is a sub-district within Pulwama.

This marks the second major encounter in the Union Territory within three days. On Tuesday, Indian forces conducted a successful operation in Shopian, eliminating three high-profile terrorists linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its proxy, The Resistance Front (TRF).

The slain terrorists in the Shopian operation were identified as Shahid Kuttay and Adnan Shafi—both residents of Shopian—and Haris Nazir of Pulwama. Kuttay was the chief operational commander of LeT and TRF, while Shafi held a senior leadership position within the group.

Kuttay was implicated in the April 2024 shooting at a Danish resort, which left two German tourists and a local driver injured. He was also responsible for orchestrating the assassination of a BJP sarpanch in Shopian in May 2023.

The recent encounters underscore the heightened vigilance and operational readiness of security forces in the Valley as they continue to dismantle terrorist networks operating with cross-border support.