Kulgam, August 3, 2025 — Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have continued Operation Akhal into its third day, confirming the death of at least one terrorist during an intense encounter in the Akhal Khulsan forest area of Kulgam district.
The counter-terror operation, launched jointly by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and the Special Operations Group (SOG), began on Friday following intelligence inputs indicating the presence of three to five militants hiding in the dense forest terrain.
Night-long Exchange of Fire
According to the Army’s Chinar Corps, the encounter continued throughout the night, with troops maintaining contact and using “calibrated fire” to tighten their hold on the location. “Intermittent and intense firefight continued through the night. One terrorist has been neutralised so far. Operation continues,” the Chinar Corps posted on social media platform X.
Authorities are working to confirm the identity and group affiliation of the deceased militant.
Broader Anti-Terror Strategy Underway
Operation Akhal is the latest in a series of coordinated offensives aimed at dismantling terrorist networks operating in the Kashmir Valley. Beyond direct engagements with armed militants, security forces are also targeting overground workers (OGWs), local sympathisers, and drug trafficking routes believed to fund militant activity.
Earlier on July 28, in a separate operation named Operation Mahadev, security forces killed three top Pakistani terrorists—Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Suleman Shah and his associates Abu Hamza and Jibran—in the high-altitude Dachigam National Park near Srinagar.
Focus on the Terror Funding Network
Officials believe that recent attacks, including the one in Pahalgam, were carried out by militants funded through hawala transactions and drug smuggling. As a result, counter-terror operations have increasingly expanded their scope to include financial and logistical backers of terrorism in the region.
The ongoing efforts by joint security forces are part of a broader strategy to disrupt the entire ecosystem that sustains militancy, rather than only neutralising active gunmen on the ground.
The operation in Kulgam remains active, with security forces maintaining a tight perimeter and combing the forest for possible remaining threats.
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