NEW DELHI: Armed forces on Wednesday killed a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian.In a social media post on X, Jammu and Kashmir Police said,” You Can Run But You Can’t Hide!” “One Lashkar terrorist neutralised by SOG Shopian, in a Jt Op, along with RR and CRPF,” it added.The encounter comes after armed forces launched a combing operation in Shopian to track down two local terrorists of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba which is led by India’s most wanted Hafiz Saeed.The two terrorists were first spotted by surveillance cameras on July 3 in a dense orchard in the Meemandar area, which comprises seven villages.A joint team of several Army columns, the Jammu and Kashmir Police, and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) maintained a tight cordon around the area.The trapped terrorists, identified as Latif and Zakir, allegedly opened fire on Army personnel as they closed in, triggering an exchange of fire, officials said.The Army’s specialised counter-insurgency unit, Victor Force, deployed additional personnel to seal all possible escape routes through the thick orchard foliage and illuminated the area.Officials said the dense foliage during the summer months provides natural cover, making surveillance difficult and allowing trapped terrorists to exploit blind spots to breach security cordons. According to security records, both terrorists are residents of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Zakir has reportedly been associated with the LeT since 2024, while Latif joined the outfit last year.Officials said Shopian has historically served as a key transit corridor linking south Kashmir with central Kashmir and the Pir Panjal range.While foreign terrorists have increasingly been used to carry out attacks, officials said eliminating local operatives such as Latif and Zakir remains crucial to disrupting logistics networks and curbing local recruitment.
