Simultaneously increasing the intensity of anti-terror efforts, security agencies have launched a fierce offensive against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) activists and suspects who carried out the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that killed 26 people.
Overnight raids saw some homes of active militants brought to the ground in South Kashmir, sources well-versed with the process said.
On the late evening of Friday, Shahid Ahmad Kuttay's house, the chief LeT militant of Chotipora in Shopian district, was razed to the ground by the authorities. The militant was operational for three to four years and was said to have been involved in coordination of anti-national activities, sources revealed.
Meanwhile, the house of militant Zahid Ahmed, a resident of Matalhama village in Kulgam district, was also razed, making a further vigorous attempt to disintegrate terror groups in the region.
Security personnel destroyed two-storeyed house of Ehsan Ahmad Sheikh in Pulwama in another fresh targeted operation. Sheikh has been under the observation of intelligence agencies since June 2023 for possessing LeT links.
Even in Pulwama, Haris Ahmad—a current LeT handler since 2023—lost his home in an explosion in the Kachipora area.
A bomb blew Ahsan Ul Haq Sheikh's home to pieces in Murran, Pulwama. Ahsan, indoctrinated in terror by Pakistan in 2018, had returned to the valley and was causing concerns among security agencies.
In another area of Tral, Monghama, security forces burned a residential house of Asif Sheikh, a local LeT commander who is suspected by the security agencies. He was under investigation by police for his suspected involvement in the Pahalgam attack. Sources added that the building was searched when they discovered some suspicious material. The security personnel retreated back for cover, and the house was subsequently detonated in a huge explosion—suggesting that explosives were present inside the house.
On the same development, Adil Thokar, or Adil Guree, had his residence searched in Guree, Bijbehara. It is suspected by the authorities that Thokar had a central role in implementing the April 22 attack plan. He was actually in a visit to Pakistan in 2018 and has allegedly received terror training on this visit. Thokar returned to the valley a year ago and since then has been under tight surveillance for his alleged link with the insurgents.
These wholesale demolition operations are a testament to India's heightened response to the recent Pahalgam massacre carried out by The Resistance Front (TRF)—a shadow group funded by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
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