Srinagar: A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist identified as Zakir Ganai was killed in South Kashmir's Shopian district following a relentless six-day operation launched by the Army and other security forces, based on a Jammu and Kashmir Police tip-off, officials said Wednesday.
In an X post, the Army's Chinar Corps said during the joint search operation being conducted by the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF in Chanapora, "one LeT terrorist, identified as Zakir Ganai, has been eliminated in the firefight".
"Arms, ammunition and other war-like stores were recovered," it said.
Giving details, the officials said that since July 3, gunfight took place twice and Ganai (26), a category C terrorist, was earlier injured.
The terrorist was a resident of Motalhama in adjoining Kulgam district and had been active since 2023.
His body had bullet injuries in left lung and on leg and the officials said that he had been injured and had crawled to a shed in the orchards.
According to the officials, Ganai left his residence for Dialgam on September 27, 2023, to undertake shuttering work but failed to return home. After his family members were unable to trace him, a missing person report was lodged at Kulgam police station on October 3, 2023.
Ganai subsequently joined The Resistance Front (TRF) terror outfit, an offshoot of LeT, the officials said.
They said he was implicated in an FIR registered at Kulgam police station under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The police also posted on X about the killing of Ganai saying "You Can Run But You Can't Hide! One Lashkar terrorist neutralised by SOG Shopian, in a Jt Op, along with RR (Rashtriya Rifles of the Army) and CRPF."
Security forces had first spotted two terrorists by surveillance cameras on July 3 in a dense orchard in the Meemandar area, the officials said.
A joint team of police, Army's 55 RR and 44 RR, and CRPF had maintained a tight cordon around the area over the last five days with intermittent exchanged of firing taking place between the two sides, they said.
The Army's specialised counter-insurgency unit, Victor Force, had deployed additional personnel to seal all possible escape routes through the thick orchard foliage, besides lighting up the area.
During the summer months, the heavy foliage offers a natural cover, making surveillance difficult and allowing trapped terrorists to exploit blind spots to break the cordons, the officials said.
Shopian has historically served as a critical transit corridor connecting south Kashmir to central Kashmir and the Pir Panjal range.
Apart from Ganai, the other trapped terrorist was believed to be Latif, who joined the outfit last year.
