Jammu: Top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Altaf Lalli was killed in an encounter in Bandipora on Friday morning, reports claimed. The operation is part of a wider security crackdown to track down LeT terrorists suspected to be involved in the Pahalgam attack in which 26 tourists were killed.
Acting on specific intelligence about the presence of terrorists, a joint search operation was launched by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police in Bandipora. Following this, contact was established with the terrorists. This led to a firefight.
Reports also claimed that one of the terrorists being pursued by security forces had sustained injuries during the initial exchange of fire. In the same encounter, two police personnel – both part of the personal security team of a senior officer-were also injured, reported India Today.
Earlier in the day, the houses of two terrorists believed to be involved in the Pahalgam attack were reportedly destroyed by security forces and J&K authorities on Friday. According to reports, the residence of Lashkar terrorist Adil Hussain Thoker in Bijbehara was blown up using IEDs. The house of Asif Sheikh in Tral was demolished with a bulldozer.
Adil Thoker is believed to have played a key role in helping the Pakistani terrorists plan and carry out the attack in Pahalgam. Thoker travelled to Pakistan in 2018 along the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab. He had reportedly received training in terror camps before infiltrating back into Kashmir last year.
#WATCH | Tral, J&K | Visuals of a destroyed house that is allegedly linked to a terrorist involved in the Pahalgam terror attack pic.twitter.com/luIH9rQIKR
— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2025
The Anantnag Police has announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh for information on Thoker and two Pakistani nationals – Ali Bhai and Hashim Musa. It is being suspected that Ali and Musa had carried out the attack. The sketches of the trio have also been released. Security forces have launched a massive hunt for the attackers.
Army Chief In Srinagar
Meanwhile, Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi has reached Srinagar and is being briefed by the 15 Corps Commander on the security situation and actions being taken by the formations against terrorists inside own territory and Pakistan Army attempts to violate the ceasefire along the LoC, the ANI reported.
