2 Terrorists Planning To Attack Amarnath Yatra Killed In Kashmir Encounter: Cops

Two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, who were reportedly intending to attack the Amarnath Yatra, were killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in Srinagar, the police said today.

The encounter took place late last night in Bemina area of the city, officials said, adding that one of the terrorists was a Pakistani national.

One policeman has also received minor injuries in the encounter, they said.

Vijay Kumar, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir zone said that both the terrorists were tasked by their handlers in Pakistan to attack the Amarnath Yatra, which begins on June 30.

"Pakistan-based handlers had sent two Pakistani terrorists of LeT terror outfit along with one local terrorist Adil Hussain Mir of Pahalgam Anantnag, who has been in Pakistan since 2018 (now all 3 killed), with the intention to attack Yatra" tweeted Mr Kumar.

This is the third encounter in recent weeks in Kashmir when police said that the killed terrorists were planning to target the Amarnath Yatra.

The security of pilgrimage remains a major concern for the government.

Last month, a blast in a bus carrying Vaishno Devi pilgrims near Katra in Jammu killed four pilgrims and injured over 20.

The case is being jointly probed by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) and the police.

The use of sticky bombs by terrorists has become a new challenge for the security forces.

According to police, over 100 terrorists have been killed since January this year in Kashmir Valley which is more than double the number of terrorists killed in the corresponding period last year. 

Of these 100, more than 70 per cent were local recruits, which is a grim reminder of a sharp increase in the number of Kashmiri youths joining terrorism.