The Indian military has greatly stepped up counterterrorism efforts throughout Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam. According to official sources, security forces have killed 12 of the most wanted terrorists in just 100 days. Six Pakistani nationals were among those killed, with the remaining militants being locals involved in significant terror-related incidents in the area.
Alongside these targeted killings, Operation Sindoor, a cross-border strike that took place between May 6 and 7, is said to have killed over 100 terrorists inside Pakistan, highlighting India's proactive strategy to destroy terror infrastructure outside of its borders. Operation Mahadev is the most prominent of several coordinated, multi-agency counter-terror operations that have been conducted throughout the Union Territory since early May. The three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who carried out the Pahalgam attack were apprehended and killed as a result of this operation.
After a fierce battle near the Dachigam area on the outskirts of Srinagar on July 28, a combined team of the Indian Army, CRPF, and the Jammu and Kashmir Police killed LeT terrorists Suleiman, Afghan, and Jibran.
Just a day later, security forces launched another high-impact operation named Shiv Shakti, during which two more terrorists were killed by the Indian Army, further weakening the network of militant operatives in the Valley.
"Quantifying the total number of such operations is difficult, as all units across Jammu and Kashmir continue to conduct relentless and area-specific counter-terror activities," a senior source said. In the immediate aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, four significant counter-terror operations were launched during the first week, with a focus on the militancy-affected areas of South Kashmir, particularly Shopian and Pulwama.
Three Lashkar terrorists were gunned down in the Keller Forest area of Shopian, marking one of the early successes of the intensified offensive. On May 15, another major encounter took place in Tral’s Nader area, resulting in the elimination of three more terrorists.
Also Read: 3 suspected Pahalgam terrorists killed in Operation Mahadev
Intelligence on terror launch pads
Intelligence reports state that up to 42 active terror launch pads were operating in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) prior to the Pahalgam attack, providing shelter to between 110 and 130 terrorists.
According to security agencies, there were between 70 and 75 terrorists operating in the Kashmir Valley and between 60 and 65 militants in the Jammu, Rajouri, and Poonch regions of India. These numbers demonstrate the scope of the threat and the necessity of ongoing counterterrorism operations by Indian forces in order to stop additional attacks and infiltration.
Also Read: Operation Mahadev: Tracked and neutralised in under 3 hours
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