Three terrorists, including Pahalgam attack planner, killed: Officials

One of the deceased, Sulieman, is believed to have played an important role in planning the Pahalgam attack, in which 26 people - mostly tourists - were shot dead in April 2025, PTI reported

The Indian Army on Monday killed three terrorists, including a man suspected to be the mastermind behind the April 22 Pahalgam attack, during an encounter on the outskirts of Srinagar, officials said, according to news agency PTI.

 

The action was part of ‘Operation Mahadev’, following the detection of a satellite phone signal linked to those involved in the Pahalgam incident. Those killed have been identified as Sulieman alias Asif, Jibran, and Hamza Afghani.

 

According to officials, Sulieman is believed to have played a central role in planning the Pahalgam attack, in which 26 people — mostly tourists — were shot dead at Baisaran meadows in April 2025. The incident had triggered a broader response from the Indian defence forces, including ‘Operation Sindoor’, under which Indian forces targeted terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) on May 7.

 

Meanwhile, Jibran was allegedly involved in the October 2024 attack at the Sonamarg tunnel project in Gagangir that left seven people, including a doctor, dead, the report added.

 

The encounter began after a joint team from 24 Rashtriya Rifles and the 4 Para unit detected movement of three terrorists around 11.30 am on Monday, the report added

 

Security forces recovered one M4 carbine rifle, two AK rifles, and other ammunition from the site. The bodies were handed over to the local police, who assisted with the identification and initiated legal formalities, the report added.

 

Additional troops have been deployed in the area amid inputs suggesting the presence of more militants, officials said.

 

This comes hours after the Chinar Corps of the Indian Army said that three terrorists were neutralised in an intense firefight.

 

"Three terrorists have been neutralised in an intense firefight. Operation continues," the Army’s Chinar Corps said in a post on X.