Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Nader Tral area of Awantipora in Pulwama after getting input about the presence of terrorists there.
#Encounter has started at Nader, Tral area of #Awantipora. Police and security forces are on the job. Further details shall follow.@JmuKmrPolice
— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) May 15, 2025
The search operation turned into an encounter after the terrorists fired upon the forces, who retaliated, a police official said. Further details were awaited, the official added.
“On 15 May 2025, based on specific intelligence input from Int agency, a Cordon & Search Operation was launched by Indian Army, J&K Police and Srinagar Sector CRPF at Nader, Tral, Awantipora. Suspicious activity was observed by vigilant troops and on being challenged, terrorists opened heavy fire and fierce gunfight ensued. Operation is in progress,” Chinar Corps of the Indian Army posted on X.
The fresh encounter broke out two days after three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were killed in an encounter in Shopian, South Kashmir, on Tuesday. The confirmation of the identification of two out of three LeT-affiliated terrorists has been made.
The three terrorists were killed in the Shukroo forest area of Keller in the Shopian district. A massive cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered by the Indian Army during the ‘Operation Keller’.
A video shows several rifles, grenades, and ammunition, along with backpacks and wallets belonging to the slain terrorists, being recovered.
Operation Keller is the Indian Army’s yet another military action against terrorists which comes amid the country’s successful and ongoing Operation Sindoor.
What is Operation Keller?
While Operation Sindoor was launched by Indian forces on May 7 to target terrorism backed by Pakistan, Operation Keller was launched on May 13 by the Indian Army after receiving intelligence about the presence of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district.
Under Operation Keller, three “hardcore terrorists” were gunned down during a heavy exchange of fire in the Keller area of Shopian.
The operation was launched based on the specific intelligence of a Rashtriya Rifles Unit about the presence of terrorists in the general area of Shoekal Keller and is currently underway, the Indian Army said.
Top LeT terrorist killed in Op Keller
In what came as a big blow to terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, a top LeT commander, Shahid Kuttay, was among the three terrorists killed in Operation Keller, PTI reported, citing officials.
According to a senior police official, all three terrorists killed were affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, out of whom, he identified two as Shahid Kuttay and Adnan Shafi, the report added. However, the identity of the third terrorist is not yet known.
Kuttay had joined the terror ranks in 2023 and was a category “A” terrorist and a top commander of LeT, said the official.
After the April 22 terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed, Kuttay’s residence was razed by the authorities just days later on April 26.
The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
