A day after a large number of residents, and tourists were seen bursting crackers and lighting diyas during Deepawali celebrations at Lal Chowk, the old city area of Khanyar in Srinagar witnessed its first anti-terrorist operation in the last 30 months. The forces gunned down Usman Lashkari, a commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) by the joint team of security forces and four jawans including two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and two Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) personnel received injuries in an over eight hour-long operation on Saturday.

Meanwhile, two more terrorists, one suspected to be a foreign terrorist, were neutralised by the security forces in the Halkan Gali area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Saturday. Of the two terrorists killed, one was a foreigner, and the other a local. Their group affiliation was yet to be ascertained, official sources said.

In another terror-related incident, a search operation was launched on Saturday after the movement of terrorists was observed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district.

According to preliminary reports, a joint team of the Special Operations Group of JKP and the CRPF  jawans had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Khanyar early Saturday morning, following inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area. The search operation turned into an encounter as the terrorists opened fire at the search party, which retaliated, they said. The residential house, where a group of terrorists were hiding, was completely raised to the ground after it caught fire in the heavy exchange of gunfire.

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir range VK Birdi said, “the day-long operation has been completed. Security forces have killed a terrorist, who has been identified as Usman Lashkari. IGP said the slain terrorist was the commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). He is a foreign terrorist and his role and involvement in the murder of Inspector Masroor has come to light and further investigation is being done in this regard.”

While the encounter was still going on President of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Dr Farooq Abdullah sparked off a fresh controversy by suggesting that terrorists should be captured rather than killed, to uncover the masterminds behind the recent surge in terror attacks across Jammu and Kashmir.

Farooq Abdullah also demanded an investigation into the Budgam terror attack and said he doubted that it was done by the people who were trying to destabilise the government in Jammu and Kashmir.

“It should be investigated. How is it that the government has come and this is happening? I doubt that it was done by the people who were trying to destabilise the government...If they (terrorists) are caught then we will get to know who is doing this. They should not be killed, they should be caught and asked who is behind them...We should check if there is an agency who is trying to destabilise Omar Abdullah,” Dr Abdullah observed.

Reacting strongly to Abdullah’s statement questioning the rise of terror attacks in J&K, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary Tarun Chugh said Abdullah should ask his mentors across the border about spilling blood in J&K.

He said “everyone knows that Pakistan is a factory of terrorism and has been disrupting peace in J&K for so long. People also know that Abdullah has been siding with Pakistan openly asking the Indian government to hold talks. Abdullah’s double standards must be exposed to make sure that J&K does not stop growing on its path of peace and development.”

The Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said in the late evening on Friday that troops spotted “suspicious movement” in the general area Panar in north Kashmir’s Bandipora.

“On being challenged, terrorists opened indiscriminate fire and escaped into the jungle,” the Army said. A search operation is underway in the area, it added.

In the Jammu region, General Officer Commanding of Jammu-based White Knight Corps Lieutenant General Navin Sachdeva on Saturday visited  Jammu and Kashmir’s border district of Rajouri and reviewed the security situation and operational preparedness.

Lt. General Sachdeva’s visit to Songri in the Rajouri sector comes a day after his tour of Navapanchhi in the Kishtwar district. Many parts of the Jammu region, including Rajouri and Kishtwar districts, have recorded terrorist movements over the past several months, prompting police and other security agencies to intensify anti-insurgency operations.

In a post on X, the White Knight Corps said Lt Gen. Sachdeva was accompanied by the general officer commanding counter-insurgency force ‘Romeo’ to Songri in the Rajouri sector.

“GOC underscored the need for unwavering commitment in maintaining peace and security in the region,” it said.