In a successful counter-infiltration operation, the Indian Army gunned down two terrorists in the Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday. The operation, which took place near Naushehra Naar in the Gurez sector, foiled an attempt by the militants to cross the Line of Control (LoC).

Alert troops engaged the group of infiltrators, resulting in a brief exchange of fire that led to the elimination of the two terrorists. Following the encounter, a search operation was launched in the surrounding area to ensure no additional infiltrators or suspicious activity were present.

The Army's Chinar Corps confirmed the operation in a post, stating that it was a joint effort by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police, based on intelligence inputs regarding a likely infiltration attempt. According to the Chinar Corps, suspicious activity was spotted by alert troops, who challenged the infiltrators, leading to an exchange of fire in which the two terrorists were neutralized.

The successful operation underscores the continued efforts by security forces to maintain vigilance and prevent infiltration attempts along the LoC. The army has been actively conducting search operations in the area.

In a separate counter-terror operation earlier this month, security forces eliminated three terrorists and injured one soldier under Operation Akhal. The total number of terrorists killed in Operation Akhal was six. On August 2, security forces eliminated three militants during an encounter in the Akhal forest area. The operation began on August 1 after intelligence inputs indicated the presence of armed militants in the dense forest region. A cordon and search operation was launched, which triggered an encounter when the terrorists opened fire on the advancing troops. After an initial exchange of gunfire, the operation was briefly halted overnight and resumed the following morning, leading to the killing of three more terrorists.

Officials confirmed that the militants neutralised under this operation were affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy outfit of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The group had earlier claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack, which resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians.