This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.
Newsanti-terror operationjammu and kashmirmilitancy in Kashmir

Security Forces Launch Massive Anti-Terror Ops In J&K's Shopian After Surge In Militancy-Related Activities

Two dozen villages have been cordoned off.
ANI
Open Image Modal
Fayaz Kabli / Reuters

SRINAGAR -- Almost two dozen villages in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir have been cordoned off, as the Indian Army along with other security forces have launched a massive anti-terror operation today.

The search operations come in the wake of a surge in militancy related incidents in the past few days.

Suspected terrorists barged into a police post guarding the court complex of southern Shopian late on Tuesday night, and decamped with five service rifles.

The terrorists decamped along with five service rifles including four INSAS rifles and an AK-47 rifle.

Earlier, following the two bank robberies that took place in Pulwama on Wednesday, Pulwama Superintendant of Police Rayees Mohammed Bhat revealed that preliminary investigation has established the involvement of the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

"Until now, we have identified one militant each from Padgampora and Khagpura, which proves Lashkar's involvement in the incident," he said.

"It is clear that militant organisations like these are short of cash. We have also seen that they now carry more advanced technological gadgets. We are continuing the investigation," he added.

The gunmen looted two banks, in separate incidents, in South Kashmir's Pulwama district, within few hours.

Bank robberies and weapon snatching incidents have been on the rise in the Valley recently, triggering an alert.

Also on HuffPost India

India Pakistan ceasefire violation
India Kashmir Border Violence(01 of13)
Open Image Modal
An Indian army soldier guards near fencing on the line of control near Balakot sector in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir. Despite a 2003 ceasefire, the two neighbors regularly trade fire. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Kashmir Border Violence(02 of13)
Open Image Modal
An Indian border post near fencing on the line of control near Balakot sector in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Kashmir In The Line Of Fire Photo Gallery(03 of13)
Open Image Modal
An Indian border villager walks past a wall of house with marks of mortar shells Ranbir Singh Pura 36 kilometers (23 miles) from Jammu. On the face of it these villages in the Jammu region of Indian Kashmir seem idyllic, but over the last two weeks these villages have been witness to an angry exchange of fire and mortar shells between Indian and Pakistani soldiers. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
APTOPIX India Kashmir In the line of fire(04 of13)
Open Image Modal
Indian villagers sit near their fields near the India Pakistan international border at Ranbir Singh Pura, 36 kilometers (23 miles) from Jammu. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Kashmir Border Violence(05 of13)
Open Image Modal
An Indian civilian vehicle that was damaged in a firing by Pakistani troops along the line of control near Balakot sector in Poonch. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
AP10ThingsToSee India Kashmir Border Violence(06 of13)
Open Image Modal
Daughter of Indian civilian Sarpanch Karamat Hussain who was killed in Pakistani shelling mourns at Balakot sector in Poonch as Indian and Pakistani troops traded heavy gunfire and mortar rounds for a seventh day along the highly militarized line of control dividing the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, officials said. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Kashmir Border Violence(07 of13)
Open Image Modal
Villagers gather during the funeral of Indian civilian Mohamad Amin who was killed in Pakistani shelling at Balakot sector in Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Kashmir Border Violence(08 of13)
Open Image Modal
Pakistani High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, center, returns from the Indian External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi, India. (Kamal Singh/Press Trust of India via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Kashmir Border Violence(09 of13)
Open Image Modal
Smoke rises behind from a mortar shell fired by Pakistani troops as Indian villagers sit during the funeral of Indian civilian Sarpanch Karamat Hussain who was killed in Pakistani shelling at Balakot sector in Poonch. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Kashmir Fighting(10 of13)
Open Image Modal
Kashmiri villagers carry the body of a civilian Bilal Ahmad during his funeral procession of civilian Bilal Ahmad at Awantipora, some 32 kilometers (20 miles) from Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015. Ahmad was killed when Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel allegedly opened fire on people protesting against the killing of two militants in a prolonged gunbattle that took place in Pulwama district in the Indian-ruled portion of Kashmir. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Kashmir Fighting(11 of13)
Open Image Modal
Unidentified women comfort the mother of civilian Bilal Ahmad, center, as she wails during a funeral procession at Awantipora, some 32 kilometers (20 miles) from Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Pakistan(12 of13)
Open Image Modal
An Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldier patrols along the Pargwal area of India-Pakistan international border in Akhnoor, Jammu and Kashmir. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Funeral Held For Killed Civilian In Kashmir(13 of13)
Open Image Modal
Kashmiri Muslim mourn over the body of Bilal Ahmad Bhat, 23, a civilian who was allegedly shot dead by Indian paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF). (Photo by Yawar Nazir/ Getty Images) (credit:Yawar Nazir via Getty Images)

Related

anti-terror operationjammu and kashmirmilitancy in Kashmirmilitantsnews
Suggest a correction
-- This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.