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Lashkar terrorist Junaid Bhat behind Gagangir civilian killings neutralised in Kashmir encounter
Police said that based on specific intelligence, joint security forces launched a CASO in the upper reaches of Dachigam forest on the outskirts of Srinagar.
Jammu and Kashmir Police on Tuesday said that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Junaid Bhat, involved in the killing of civilians in Gagangir and several other terror attacks was killed in an encounter in Dachigam.
Police said that based on specific intelligence, joint security forces launched a cordon and search operation (CASO) in the upper reaches of Dachigam forest on the outskirts of Srinagar. A contact was established, leading to the killing of Junaid Bhat. The operation is still ongoing in the area.
Police said that Junaid Bhat was involved in the killing of seven employees of a construction firm working on the Z-Morh tunnel near Sonamarg in Central Kashmir's Ganderbal district.
A Lashkar terrorist from south Kashmir's Kulgam district, Junaid was identified as one of the two attackers through CCTV footage of the incident.
On October 20, seven people including a Kashmiri doctor were killed when terrorists opened fire on construction site in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
The attack was the deadliest on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir since the June 9 incident in Reasi when nine pilgrims were killed after the bus they were in plunged into a valley when it came under gunfire from terrorists.
Union home minister Amit Shah had said those involved in the heinous act will not be spared. “The dastardly terror attack on civilians in Gagangir, J&K, is a despicable act of cowardice. Those involved in this heinous act will not be spared and will face the harshest response from our security forces,” Shah wrote on X.
The attack came after the first new administration in Jammu and Kashmir was sworn in since it was made a union territory and its special status under Article 370 was withdrawn in 2019.
Police said that at least two suspected gunmen opened indiscriminate fire on the camp housing APCO workers at Gagangeer in the Gund area of Ganderbal district.
