Srinagar: In a breakthrough, the Army’s elite para commandos on Monday gunned down the alleged mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack along with two of his associates in an encounter in a forest area on Srinagar’s outskirts in Kashmir, officials said here.
The officials said Sulieman alias Asif, who is believed to be the mastermind of the April 22 attack, was killed after the security forces launched a surprise action, codenamed ‘Operation Mahadev’, following a technical signal indicating use of a satellite phone that was used by the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack.
The other terrorists killed in the action have been identified as Jibran — who was allegedly involved in the Sonamarg Tunnel attack last year — and Hamza Afghani.
The official X account of the Indian Army’s Chinar Corps earlier posted that the security forces have launched Operation Mahadev in Lidwas. “Three terrorists have been neutralised in an intense firefight. Operation Continues,” the Army said in an update, adding that the operation is not over yet.
All the terrorists, it is learnt, were “high-value” targets. According to reports, the security forces acted on an intelligence input and launched the operation in the Mulnar area of Harwan. Reinforcements have been rushed to the area and a combing exercise is on.
NDTV has also accessed a photo of the terrorist hideout that was targeted in Operation Mahadev. The visuals show multiple guns in the hideout located deep inside a forest area. According to sources, Carbine and AK-47 rifles, 17 rifle grenades and other arms and ammunition were recovered during the encounter. Security forces suspect that the terrorists were planning a big action in Jammu and Kashmir.
