Junaid Ahmed Bhat, the top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, was killed in an encounter with the Jammu and Kashmir police on Tuesday. Bhat had been involved in several deadly attacks, including killing six workers and a doctor at a private company’s housing camp in Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir. The encounter took place in the Dachigam area, where security forces comprising the J&K Police and the Indian Army were conducting a joint operation. According to reports, the crackdown on the remaining terrorists is still being conducted.
The Kashmir Zone Police confirmed the killing on social media, saying, “In the ongoing operation, one terrorist was killed and has been identified as Junaid Ahmed Bhat (LeT, Category A). The said terrorist was involved in civilian killings at Gagangir, Ganderbal, and several other terror attacks. The operation is still going on in the upper reaches of Dachigam, with J&K Police and other security forces.”
In the ongoing operation, one #terrorist is killed and has been identified as Junaid Ahmed Bhat (LeT, Category A). The said terrorist was involved in civilians killing at Gagangir, Ganderbal and several other terror attacks, posts Kashmir Zone Police. pic.twitter.com/3dEYfHcmMx
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 3, 2024
Following Bhat’s death, security in the region has been tightened, with increased operations targeting terrorist groups. This comes after a series of terrorist attacks in the Kashmir Valley, including the very recent busting of a terror hideout in the Kunzer area of Baramulla district by the Baramulla Police on November 23.
The face-off began on Monday night as a joint team of J&K Police and CRPF had started the search operation, believing there were non-local terrorists in the area, resulting in an exchange of gunshots between security forces and the terrorists. Things went sour as terrorists started firing at security personnel who gave it back, resulting in Bhat’s death during an exchange of gunshots in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
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Bhat, a Category A terrorist with LeT, was involved in the attack on October 20 at a tunnel construction site in Ganderbal, where a doctor and six non-local workers were killed. CCTV footage from the scene showed Bhat entering the workers’ camp shortly after the attack, dressed in black and carrying a rifle.
Moreover, in another incident, two women were arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA) in Udhampur district on the allegations of being terror associates. The two women, identified as Maryama Begum and Arshad Begum, are accused of providing logistic support to terrorist groups and working as facilitators. Authorities claimed that their activities posed a grave threat to public safety. The security operations in Jammu and Kashmir are a reflection of the increased focus on counterterrorism activities in the region.
