J&K Encounter: Drone Footage Captures Terrorists Hiding in Shed Before Gunfight

GG News Bureau
Awantipora, 15th May: Dramatic footage has surfaced following an encounter in the Tral region of Awantipora, Pulwama, early Thursday morning, which resulted in the deaths of three terrorists. The operation, conducted jointly by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police, is the second such encounter in the Union Territory within 48 hours, signaling intensified counter-terrorism efforts.

One video released shows a terrorist taking cover behind a concrete pillar, armed with what appears to be an assault rifle. Another clip, filmed from a distance, depicts the terrorists huddled inside a dilapidated shed where they were hiding. The three individuals were killed after security forces cornered them in a house where they had sought refuge.

This encounter follows closely on the heels of another successful operation on Tuesday (May 13) in Shopian, where three more terrorists were neutralized. That gunfight began in Kulgam and moved to a forested area in Shopian. Security forces had initiated the operation based on credible intelligence regarding the presence of terrorists.

The Army’s Chinar Corps identified the slain terrorists from the Shopian encounter as Asif Ahmed Sheikh, Amir Nazir Wani, and Yawar Ahmed Bhat. A significant cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from them, including three AK-series rifles, twelve magazines, three grenades, and other “war-like stores,” according to the Chinar Corps.

These recent operations come amid increased scrutiny and tracking of terrorist movements in the wake of the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam in April 2025. That attack claimed the lives of 26 people, predominantly civilians. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy organization of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam massacre.

The Indian government had identified four to five terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack, and a manhunt to apprehend them remains ongoing.

India’s response to the Pahalgam attack included a series of non-military measures, such as the suspension of certain Pakistani visas and the abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty, a crucial agreement governing water sharing of the Indus river system.

Further escalating the response, India launched “Operation Sindoor” in the early hours of May 7, fifteen days after the Pahalgam attack. This operation involved precision air strikes targeting nine terror camps, with four located in Pakistan. One of the key targets was the headquarters and training base of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group with a history of involvement in terror attacks against India.

Pakistan responded to the Indian strikes with attempted military action, launching a barrage of drones and missiles. However, these incoming projectiles were effectively intercepted by India’s air defence system. Following four nights of exchanges involving Pakistani drone and missile attacks and Indian counter-strikes, a ceasefire was agreed upon by both sides, facilitated by the United States.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a recent address to the nation, stated that Operation Sindoor had established a “new normal” in India’s resolute fight against terrorism, setting a new benchmark for counter-terrorism operations.