4 LeT terrorists held, hideout in forests of Awantipora destroyed: J&K police

The counter-terror operations in the Kashmir Valley have intensified followed rise in target killings in recent months.

Four terrorists linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba were arrested and their hideout in forests of Awantipora in Jammu and Kashmir was destroyed, police said on Monday. Incriminating materials were recovered from the terrorist hideout and a case was registered, they added. The operation was conducted jointly by Jammu and Kashmir police and security forces.

Security personnel stand guard during the Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', at Awantipora in Pulwama District of South Kashmir, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.(PTI)

Kashmir Zone Police tweeted, “Police alongwith security forces busted & destroyed terrorist #hideout in Hafoo Nageenpora forests of #Awantipora. 04 #terrorist associates linked with #terror outfit LeT arrested. #Incriminating materials & other items recovered. Case registered, investigation in progress.”

The counter-terror operations in the Kashmir Valley have intensified followed rise in target killings in recent months.

The operation comes days after Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through Awantipora where the Congress leader was joined by People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. The yatra resumed on Saturday from Awantipora after it was briefly suspended alleging security lapse.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Kashmir Zone, Vijay Kumar, said late last month that a total of 172 terrorists were neutralised in 93 counter-terrorism operations in Kashmir in 2022. He informed that the majority of the terrorists neutralised this year belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) or its local offshoot The Resistant Front (TRF), followed by Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen, Al-Badr, and Al-Qaeda affiliated Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AguH).