Srinagar, 28 July

In a major breakthrough, the Army's elite para commandos on Monday gunned down the alleged mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack along with two of his associates in an encounter in a forest area on Srinagar's outskirts in Kashmir, officials said here.

The officials said Sulieman alias Asif, who is believed to be the mastermind of the 22 April attack, was killed after the security forces launched a surprise action, codenamed 'Operation Mahadev', following a technical signal indicating use of a satellite phone that was used by the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack.

The other terrorists killed in the action have been identified as Jibran -- who was allegedly involved in the Sonamarg Tunnel attack last year -- and Hamza Afghani.

As many as 26 persons -- mostly tourists -- were shot dead by terroristsat Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam, which prompted the armed forces to launch Operation Sindoor on 7 May against the terror infrastructure in Pakistan.

Additional reinforcements of the Army and other security forces have been rushed as intelligence inputs suggested the presence of another group of terrorists in the area, the officials said.

Jibran was allegedly involved in last year's terror strike at the Sonamarg tunnel project at Gagangir in October last year. Seven people, including a doctor, were killed in the attack.

One M4 carbine rifle, two AK rifles and other munitions were recovered from the site of the encounter.

The bodies of the slain terrorists have been handed over to local police, which helped in the identification process, for carrying out legal formalities and final rites as per the standard operating procedure.

The officials said that at around 1130 hours, one party comprising personnel from 24 Rashtriya Rifles and 4 Para unit had detected the group of three terrorists.

Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Zone) VK Birdi said it was a long-drawn operation which was going on till the last reports.

Earlier, Srinagar-based Chinar Corps in a post on X said three terrorists were killed under Operation Mahadev. "Three terrorists have been neutralised in an intense firefight. Operation Continues," the Chinar Corps of the Army said.