5 foreign militants killed in J&K as major infiltration bid foiled

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, June 16

Five foreign militants trained in guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan-Pakistan theatre have been killed in an ambush laid by security forces near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, officials said on Friday. It is said to be the biggest infiltration bid foiled since 2021 when India and Pakistan effected a ceasefire.

The encounter started in the wee hours of Friday after the Army and the police launched a joint operation in Jumagund area of Keran sector following specific inputs. “Five foreign terrorists killed in encounter. Search in the area is going on,” tweeted ADGP Vijay Kumar. Based upon specific intelligence developed by the Kupwara police about the likely infiltration of a group of five “highly trained and heavily armed” militants of Jammu Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF), ambushes were laid on the possible route of infiltration, the officials said.

“On being intercepted, the terrorists attacked the ambush parties. The attack was retaliated, resulting in the neutralisation of the militants. All five bodies and arms have been recovered,” they said. A large amount of arms and ammunition, including five AK series rifles, 15 magazines and grenades, and equipment such as night vision devices and binoculars were recovered, said an Army official.

The officials said the group was affiliated with JKGF, which has Rafiq Nai and Shamsher Nai (alias Zafar Iqbal), both residents of Poonch, and Murtaza Pathan, alias Ghaznvi, an Afghanistan war veteran from Faislabad in Pakistan, as handlers. All are currently settled in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).