Four terrorists including two foreigners were gunned down by the joint team of security forces in different parts of Kashmir valley in the last 24 hours.
Three of them were belonging to Lashkar-e- Toiba (LeT) while one was assocaited with pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist outfit, police said.
On the other hand, a small batch of around 250 Kashmiri pandit devotees from Jammu arrived in Kashmir to participate in the annual Kheer Bhawani mela at Tulmulla in the central Kashmir district of Ganderbal on Tuesday.
Compared to previous years the annual fair is expected to remain a low key affair as the majority of Kashmiri pandits have decided to stay away in the wake of targeted killings of members belonging to the minority community. On its part the Union Territory administration has made elaborate security arrangements but the temple recorded below average number of visitors ahead of the annual Zeshta Ashtami festival.
According to a spokesman of the Jammu and Kashmir police, two Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists including one Pakistani terrorist namely Tufail killed were killed in the encounter at Chaktaras Kandi area of Kupwara.
Meanwhile, another terrorist was killed in an encounter in the orchards of Badimarg/ Aloora area Shopian.
According to police, the Killed terrorist has been identified as Nadeem Ahmad Rather @ Kamran of Kulgam. He was linked with pro-Pakistan terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. Police spokesman said, Nadeem was involved in several terror crimes including killing of Kulpora Panch and recruitment of youth into terror ranks. Local reports suggested Nadeem had qualified NDA and was pursuing PG in veterinary science before he went missing from his residence in Kulgam in March 2020.
Late Monday night a Pakistani terrorist of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT),identified as Hanzalla, was killed in an encounter in Sopore area of Baramulla district.
Inspector General of Police Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, identified the killed terrorist as Hanzalla of Lahore Pakistan. He said that one AK-47 rifle, 5 AK magazines and ammunition were recovered from him.
Police spokesman also informed, Shopian police Tuesday cracked the recent terror attack case in which terrorists used IED in a vehicle at Shedow Shopian, in which one soldier was martyred and others were injured. "All 04 terrorist/associates involved in the case have been arrested", police spokesman added.