2 Army terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir: One was on the hit list formed after the Pahalgam attack; Encounter lasted for 3 hours in Shopian

Two Army terrorists were killed in an encounter in Shopian's Saidpora area of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday evening. This has not been confirmed by the security forces. However, according to some media reports, the two slain terrorists have been identified as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) top operative Zakir Ahmad Ghani (A++ category) and his associate Latif Bhat. The security forces received intelligence inputs that the two terrorists were hiding in Chanpora area near Saidpora Pyin in south Kashmir's Shopian. During the siege, when the security forces approached the hideout of the terrorists, the duo opened heavy fire. The clashes began at 7:45 p.m. on July 4. The joint operation was carried out jointly by Kashmir Police SOG, 44 RR, 20 RR, 34 RR and 03 PARA. The encounter and search operation has been stopped due to darkness. This will be resumed in the morning. The bodies of the terrorists have not been recovered so far. The operation was launched on Friday afternoon when the two terrorists were spotted on an army camera installed in a garden in the Mimandar area of seven villages. Several teams of the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) cordoned off the area and evacuated 4 villages by evening. The Army's special anti-terrorism unit, the 'Victor Force', deployed additional personnel to close all possible escape routes through the thick trees of the garden and also arranged for lighting in the area. When the army troops moved towards them, they started firing, to which the army also retaliated effectively and the clash began. According to sources, Zakir Ahmad Ghani, a resident of Muthalham village in Kulgam, was tracked down by security forces along with other terrorists in south Kashmir districts yesterday. Zakir's name was also linked to several terror attacks linked to Pakistan. In October 2025, the NIA court issued a notice against him and recently his name was also linked to the investigation of the Pahalgam terror attack of April 2026. After the Pahalgam attack, security agencies released a list of 14 terrorists in Kashmir and their houses were also demolished. According to security records, Zakir has been associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba since 2024, while Latif joined LeT last year. If Zakir Ghani's death is confirmed, he will be the ninth terrorist to be killed by security forces. Of the 14 terrorists whose list was released, nine including Zakir Ghani have been killed so far. Six terrorists were killed during encounters in Shopian and Pulwama in May 2025. ---------------------------------------------------------- also read this news... The names of 6 martyrs of Operation Sindur were revealed for the first time: 5 from the Army, 1 from the Air Force; The names of 6 soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces who were martyred during Operation Sindur have been officially released for the first time. These names are included in the 'Roll of Honour' of the National War Memorial website. Their names have also been inscribed on the 2025 block on the 3D wall of the National War Memorial, New Delhi. The Tyagya Chakra at the National War Memorial has 16 round granite walls, on which the name, rank and unit of each soldier who laid down his life for the country since Independence are inscribed. Read the full story...