Three Pakistani terrorists including Jaish commander Saifullah were killed in Jammu and Kashmir.
On April 12, 2025, security forces in Jammu and Kashmir successfully gunned down three Pakistani terrorists in the dense Naidgam forests of Chatroo in Kishtwar district. The operation was launched on April 9 and involved commandos of 2, 5 and 9 Para of the Indian Army, CRPF and Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police. The first success came in the morning when one terrorist was killed, followed by two more later the same day.
The terrorists identified as Saifullah, Farman and Basha were all affiliated with the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group. Each of them carried a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on their head for their involvement in various terror activities.
Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Saifullah was among those killed. A large quantity of war material, including an AK and an M4 rifle, was recovered from the spot.
Simultaneous anti-terror operations have also been launched in Udhampur and Kishtwar districts to nab terrorists who could be part of a larger group that infiltrated through the international border in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district recently. During the anti-terror operation, three armed terrorists of the Jaish-e-Mohammed group barged into the house of a villager at Basantgarh in Udhampur district late Wednesday night. The terrorists fled with food, mobile phones, clothes, shoes, a bag and an umbrella. Earlier, on April 3, two terrorists barged into a house in Chor Panjwa-Khabbal area of Majalta block in Udhampur and took a family hostage and forcibly snatched a mobile phone and food and fled around 10 pm. This is the same area where the terrorists were spotted by security forces on April 3. The terrorists were first spotted in the jungle of Saniyal village in Hiranagar sector on March 23. On March 27, two terrorists and four policemen were killed in an encounter in Sufan jungle near Jakhole village in Kathua district. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Army violated ceasefire along the LoC in Keri Battal sector of Akhnoor and tried to send armed terrorists across the border. The attempt was foiled by alert troops. A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) was seriously injured during the heavy firing. He was rushed to a garrison hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. The operation in Kishtwar district was based on specific intelligence inputs which led to a gunfight with the terrorists in which one terrorist was killed. On April 8, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level security review meeting in Srinagar. The meeting was attended by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Home Secretary, IB chief, Army Chief, Army Northern Commander, GoCs of all corps in Jammu and Kashmir, chiefs of paramilitary forces, Jammu and Kashmir DGP and heads of other intelligence agencies. The Home Minister lauded the role of the joint forces in curbing terrorism but ordered complete elimination of terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir with special focus on the Jammu division of the Union Territory.
The Army deployed helicopters to trace the fleeing terrorists and the operation was carried out in the snow-clad and densely forested mountains of the region.
The counter-terrorism operations were carried out in the snow-clad mountains and dense forests, highlighting the ongoing efforts to combat terrorism in the region.
To summarise, the successful operation in Kishtwar district resulted in the elimination of three Pakistani terrorists including Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Saifullah and recovery of a large quantity of war material. The operation was part of the ongoing counter-terrorism operations aimed at destroying terror cells in the region.