Search op turns into encounter in J&K’s Shopian, two Lashkar terrorists killed

Two local Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists were killed by security forces in South Kashmir’s Shopian region on Tuesday. The Indian Army and Police launched a joint operation about the presence of terrorists during the intervening night of October 9 and 10 in Alishahpur, Shopian.

Commenting on the operation, ADGP Vijay Kumar, informed that one of the killed terrorists, Abrar, was involved in the targeted killing of a Kashmiri Pandit, Sanjay Sharma, who worked as a security guard at a local bank in South Kashmir, who was shot by terrorists in February this year near his residence.

Security forces launched a massive cordon and search operation in South Kashmir’s Alshipora area of Shopian district on October 10 midnight. First contact was established with hiding terrorists around 1:25am on October 10. The operation was launched after receiving intelligence inputs about the presence of two to three terrorists in the area.

An official from Jammu and Kashmir police said the operation is over, but as precautionary measures, forces will remain at the encounter spot for some more time. The area is also being sanitised.

The joint operation was conducted by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir police and the Central Reserve Police Force.

The bodies of killed terrorists have been retrieved from the site of the encounter. Further medical and other legal formalities are being conducted, said a top police official to Republic.

J&K Police confirmed the identification of two killed terrorists as Morifat Maqbool and Jazim Farooq, also known by his code name Abrar.