Two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were gunned down in Nawapora in the Mir Bazaar neighbourhood of the Kulgam district by the security forces and the Jammu and Kashmir police. The Amarnath Yatra route was fairly close to the operation scene, according to the police.
The police further stated that after learning of reports of militant activity in the region, the security personnel conducted a cordon and search operation. A confrontation that started as a search operation ended in killing of two terrorists.
In a tweet by Kashmir Zone Police, Vijay Kumar, Inspector General of Police mentioned that both the slain terrorists have been recognised as local terrorists of terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. The encounter is very important given that the operation site is quite close to Amarnath Yatra route.
According to a police official, suspicious activity was detected in an adjacent orchard as a joint police and army party was examining suspected locations along the national highway close to Mir Bazaar.
The official claimed that after cordoning off the area, the party came under terrorist fire, which was returned, resulting in an encounter. Two terrorists were killed as the operation came to a close. They were named as Yasir Wani and Raees Manzoor. Raees joined the terrorist ranks just two months ago, whereas Yasir is a long-time LeT member who is wanted in numerous violent crimes. He started acting as a terrorist in 2020.
After a two-year hiatus, the 43-day Amarnath Yatra to the sacred cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas is set to start from today.
