The security forces have gunned down two Pakistani terrorists in Srinagar who were sent across the border by their handlers to attack the Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir.

They were accompanied by a local terrorist who has been in Pakistan since 2018 who was also shot dead in the encounter.  The three terrorists belonged to the proscribed terror outfit Lashkar e Taiba (LeT). One of the killed terrorists has been identified as Abdullah Goujri, a resident of Faisalabad in Pakistan based on documents and other incriminating materials recovered from him, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar said.

“Three terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT neutralized by Srinagar Police in an encounter in Bemina area of Srinagar… Pakistan-based handlers had sent two Pakistani terrorists of the LeT terror outfit along with one local terrorist Adil Hussain Mir of Pahalgam Anantnag, who has been in Pakistan since 2018. All three who were sent with the intention to attack Yatra have been killed," he further added.

The action comes at a time when security has been beefed up across the Kashmir Valley for the Amarnath Yatra which is slated to commence on June 30. Earlier, on Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir administration made Aadhaar authentication mandatory for pilgrims embarking on the Amarnath Yatra.

The security forces have neutralised over 100 terrorists this year in Jammu and Kashmir so far out of which 32 had infiltrated from Pakistan.

He said that the majority of the slain terrorists were from terror groups linked with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Compared to this 50 terrorists were killed during the same period in 2021. Out of these 49 were local and one was foreign,  the Kashmir IGP said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police along with security forces have been conducting numerous anti-terror operations in Kashmir in which many terrorists and their commanders have been killed.

At the same time IGP Vijay Kumar has appealed to misguided youth who have joined terror folds to give up the gun and return to the mainstream. He urged the families of these terrorists to persuade their wards to shun the reckless path of violence.

Also read: 100 terrorists gunned down in J&K so far this year, 29 were from Pakistan