J&K Week-Long Encounter Ends: Local LeT Commander Among Two Terrorists Killed, Search Operations Continue

Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) reported yesterday (19 September) that two militants, including local Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) recruit Uzair Khan, were killed in an encounter in Kokernag area of Kashmir in Anantang district.

Vijay Kumar, the Additional Director General of Police for Kashmir, confirmed the deaths of two militants, with Khan among them, in the Gadool encounter in South Kashmir's Anantnag district.

According to Kumar, Khan's body has been recovered, while the body of the second terrorist is located near the encounter site.

Search operations will continue to determine if any more terrorists are in the area, Kumar stated.

Earlier, Vijay Kumar and Rajiv Ghai, the 15 Corps Commander of the Army, visited the Gadool forest of Kokernag in South Kashmir's Anantnag district to assess the ongoing anti-militancy operation, which entered its seventh day on Tuesday (19 September).

The operation began late last Tuesday (12 September) evening based on intelligence inputs indicating the presence of militants in a concealed forest hideout.

However, the militants detected the joint team of Indian Army and JKP personnel on Wednesday morning (13 September), leading to a fierce exchange of gunfire. The sudden attack created chaos and impeded evacuation efforts, leaving the officers stranded in the line of fire.

During the initial exchange of fire, Colonel Manpreet Singh lost his life, while Major Ashish Dhonak and DSP Himayun Muzammil Bhat sustained injuries but later succumbed to their wounds. The Army reported that two soldiers were also injured during the encounter.

On Monday (18 September), the body of Army soldier Pardeep Singh was recovered from the encounter site, raising the security forces' death toll to four.