Security Forces Strike Major Blow to Hizbul Mujahideen in South Kashmir

Six terrorists were killed in two encounters in Jammu and Kashmir's South Kashmir, dealing a significant blow to Hizbul Mujahideen. The operations resulted in the loss of one Army personnel. A significant cache of arms and ammunition was recovered at the encounter sites.

In a major counter-terrorism operation, six terrorists were killed across two separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir's South Kashmir region. Brigadier Prithviraj Chauhan, Commander 1sec RR, declared this a critical blow to the Hizbul Mujahideen. The operations also saw one Army personnel making the ultimate sacrifice.

"During the Chinigham operation, soldier Prabhakar Praveen sacrificed his life for the nation. We had been monitoring movements for several days through Army surveillance and received actionable intelligence on July 6. At around 4 pm, our soldier detected terrorist movement, leading to an exchange of fire. Sadly, we lost one of our own while neutralizing four terrorists. An IED weighing 6 kg was also destroyed to prevent any collateral damage," Chauhan detailed.

Javed Ahmad Matoo, DIG South Kashmir, informed that in the Kulgam encounter, two terrorists were killed, including Adil who had multiple FIRs against him. "In total, two joint operations led to the elimination of six terrorists. The second encounter in Chinigham led to the neutralization of Yavar Bashir Dar, a Category 'A' terrorist, among others. Significant arms and ammunition were recovered from the sites," Matoo added. The Indian Army paid tributes to Lance Naik Pardeep Kumar and Sepoy Pravin Janjal Prabhakar, who lost their lives during these operations.

(With inputs from agencies.)