Srinagar, July 8: Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday said a terrorist was killed in a gunfight in the Chanapora area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
Earlier, a top police official said that a body was spotted at the gunfight site.
“The body along with weapon has been seen at the spot. That is being retrieved,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, V.K. Birdi, said.
Police said fresh gunshots were heard near the encounter site, after which the unidentified body was spotted. “The identity of the body will ascertained once retreived,” police said.
The development comes on the fifth day of a massive joint cordon-and-search operation (CASO) launched by security forces following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area. The operation, involving the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Indian Army, and CRPF, has been underway since Saturday evening (July 4)
The anti-terror operation was intensified after surveillance cameras detected suspicious movement in the dense orchards of the Meemandar/Chanapora belt, which spans multiple villages.
Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists — identified as top operative Zakir Ahmad Ganie (an A++ category terrorist from Kulgam involved in several attacks) and his associate Latif Bhatt — were believed to be trapped in the area.
Security forces, including units of the Army’s 44 RR, 20 RR, 34 RR, 55 RR, 3 Para, J&K Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG), and CRPF battalions (14 and 178), established a multi-layered cordon. The terrorists opened fire upon being challenged, triggering the gunfight. Additional troops from the Victor Force were deployed to seal escape routes amid challenging terrain and thick foliage.
Search operations have continued for several days, with forces clearing villages systematically while maintaining pressure on the cordoned area.
