Shopian, Jammu and Kashmir- In a major operation, security forces have recovered thousands of arms and rounds from the Shopian area today following the successful neutralization of three terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) on the night of last week through “Operation Keller. The massive seizure highlights the continued aspirations of terror groups to arm their men in the region.
Large guns and magazines were found the next day at Shoekal Keller, located at the place where the fight happened (Tuesday). Among these recovered items were numerous AK-series rifles, a considerable number of load and grenade boxes as war-like stores. Such an arsenal being recovered indicates that the dead terrorists were well-supplied and could have planned major disruptive operations in the future in the area.
The encounter was the result of an operation called Operation Keller, which was carried out by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) under the guidance of specific intelligence information regarding terrorists in the Shokal Keller forest. Within minutes, the joint team had cordoned off the area following an intense gunfight with the barricaded militants. The operation killed three core LeT terrorists, including a local commander. According to security forces, these are persons who have been engaged in the recent terror incidents that transpired in the area.
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This is a big event that is part of the bigger Indy operation in Jammu and Kashmir ( where all the heat of intensive anti-terrorism have been cranked up) It is immediate post-operation Sindoor (which targeted terror infrastructure from across border to its root), in the current security alert after Pahalgam incident security cases coming to light. The recapture of the weapons cache of neutralised terrorists in Operation Keller once again underscores the ongoing security effort to neutralise the terror ecosystem & uphold peace and stability in the Union Territory.
The terror threat is still there, and authorities are vigilant and fighting against it.
The operation took a heavy toll on the Lashkar-e-Taiba network in South Kashmir, especially with the killing of local commander Shahid Kuttay, a Category ‘A’ terrorist who was involved in activities since 2023 and linked to several earlier attacks. Another harmful militant has been neutralized after collecting information as Adnan Shafi Dar. The security forces had a difficult time operating in the thick forest terrain of Shoekal Keller, but accurate intelligence and the time of all concerned parties paid unprecedented dividends. The fact that weapons were recovered is important to prevent future use as arms, and it also shows the consolidation of Pakistani-backed outfits fighting terrorism in the valley.
