In a decisive, intelligence-driven offensive, the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Indian Army, and CRPF have intensified operations against terror infrastructure and its support ecosystem across Kashmir. Coordinated actions spanning the Shopian, Pulwama, Sopore (Baramulla), and Kulgam districts led joint teams to apprehend 13 individuals—including 5 hybrid terrorists, overground workers, and terror associates—and recover substantial caches of arms, ammunition, hand grenades, and anti-national literature.
Following specific intelligence regarding suspicious activity, joint teams launched surprise cordon-and-search operations. Top officials confirmed that these operations are part of a sustained campaign prioritizing the destruction of hideouts, arms caches, hybrid modules, and local support structures to systematically dismantle the terror ecosystem. These operational successes stem from specific inputs intercepted by intelligence agencies, which flagged suspicious movements, potential terror plots, the storage of war-like stores, and activities by hybrid elements. From the Line of Control to major towns, cities, and highways, security forces have maintained round-the-clock surveillance, deployed additional personnel, and established surprise checkpoints and mobile checkposts to choke the terror network. Sources state that intercepted communications suggest terror handlers instructed their operatives to execute targeted killings and grenade attacks on security establishments of all sizes to disrupt peace in Kashmir. Hybrid terrorists are individuals who do not appear on security forces’ lists or databases. They lead standard civilian lives—working as students, laborers, or employees—while remaining radicalized enough to execute targeted attacks, often using pistols or grenades on instructions from handlers. After a strike, they discard their weapons and blend back into society, making them significantly harder to track than full-time terrorists. Security officials noted: “Their recruitment and brainwashing often occur online. They receive limited local or remote training and are kept on standby for specific tasks by proxy groups such as The Resistance Front (TRF) or the United Liberation Front (ULC), which are linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and similar outfits. This low-signature operational model continues to pose a challenge for security agencies. To counter these plans, security has been beefed up across the Valley, particularly in crowded areas of Srinagar and along major highways. Technical surveillance has doubled, while the security grid has been enhanced for both day and night operations alongside increased patrolling frequencies in urban areas and along the Line of Control. These individuals are undergoing further interrogation; their lack of prior criminal records in security databases suggests a major plot to utilize unsuspected individuals was successfully foiled. Elsewhere in South Kashmir, the Shopian Police intercepted a motorcycle carrying three individuals from Kulgam: Junaid Muzaffar Dar, Aamir Yousaf, and Junaid Bashir Dar. Beyond South Kashmir, security forces achieved major success in Sopore, located in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Investigations remain ongoing across all cases to map broader network linkages. Officials added that high-pressure, continuous surveillance will remain active from the Line of Control to urban centers and highways.
This heightened vigil enabled security forces to execute multiple successful operations over the past 90 hours, arresting 13 individuals and recovering a significant cache of arms and ammunition across Kashmir. Seizures include 1 AK rifle, 2 AK magazines, 10 hand grenades, over 100 rounds of ammunition, 1 IED, and anti-national documents and posters. In one operation, the Kulgam Police, 9 Rashtriya Rifles, and 18 Battalion CRPF apprehended five hybrid terrorists. Police identified them as Farhan Ahmad Wani (22), Sohaib Ahmad Pala (20), Salman Abbas Lone (20), Nidash Ahmad Reshi (22), and Faizal Akbar (30). Recovered from them were four 9mm pistols, four magazines, 22 rounds of ammunition, and 2 hand grenades. They were apprehended with 2 hand grenades and incriminating posters linked to Hizbul Mujahideen. At a separate surprise check-post, the Shopian Police, 34 Rashtriya Rifles, and 178 Bn CRPF arrested three additional terror associates—Haris Manzoor, Ashiq Hussain, and Arif Ahmad Kumar, all residents of Anantnag. Forces recovered 1 hand grenade, 2 AK-47 magazines, 20 rounds of ammunition, incriminating posters, and mobile phones from the trio. In Pulwama, a search operation led by Pulwama Police, 44 Rashtriya Rifles, and 183 Bn CRPF intercepted two individuals emerging suspiciously from a forest area: Latif Ahmad Deedad and Aejaz Ahmad Bajad. Search teams recovered 1 pistol, 12 pistol rounds, and 1 hand grenade from their possession. A joint search operation by the Army, CRPF, and Police yielded an AK-series rifle, three magazines, 4 hand grenades, a large quantity of ammunition, and other war-like stores, effectively foiling major terror plots planned for the Valley.
The conversations further indicate that active operatives were told to employ radicalized hybrid elements to execute terror activities, allowing them to dodge investigation if an attack succeeded.
