Two terrorists were killed, and one was injured in an ongoing encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, the Indian Army confirmed on Saturday morning. The operation was launched in the forest area of Akhal following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists on Friday. During the search, the terrorists opened fire on the troops, leading to an intense gunfight that continued through the night. According to the Army’s Chinar Corps, alert troops responded with calibrated fire, maintaining constant contact and tightening the noose around the hiding terrorists. Initially, one terrorist was neutralized, and hours later, security forces confirmed the death of a second terrorist.

This encounter follows a series of anti-terror operations in the region. Just days earlier, three terrorists involved in the deadly Pahalgam attack on April 22 were killed by security forces near Srinagar under ‘Operation Mahadev’. The slain terrorists included Sulieman alias Asif, the alleged mastermind of the attack, and his associates Jibran—linked to the Sonamarg Tunnel attack last year—and Hamza Afghani.

The Pahalgam attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists, at Baisaran meadows, triggered the launch of Operation Sindoor on May 7 to dismantle terror infrastructure in Pakistan. Additionally, on Thursday, two more terrorists were gunned down near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch. Police confirmed that the duo had infiltrated from Pakistan and were intercepted shortly after entering Indian territory.