Security forces, on Wednesday, gunned down two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) linked terrorists in south Kashmir’s Kulgam. The place of the incident is close to the route of the Amarnath cave, near Pahalgam. Incidentally, the encounter between security forces and terrorists happened on the day when the first batch of pilgrims had reached the base camp, from Jammu.

The police confirmed that two terrorists have been killed at Nawapora in Mir Bazar of Kulgam.

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IGP Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said both the killed terrorists have been identified as local terrorists of the banned terror outfit LeT. “Again an important encounter as the operation site was very close to the National Highway Yatra route”, the IGP added.

In view of the high threat perception, the security forces have been deployed in a large number along the route of the yatra. The forces have covered all the places through which pilgrims would pass during the 43-days pilgrimage. The yatra will set off from Pahalgam and Baltal routes in Kashmir.

In another incident, the police and security forces arrested a LeT terrorist Mehboob ul Inam at a checkpoint near Papchan in north Kashmir’s Bandipora.

His disclosure led to the recovery of arms and ammunition, including 3 AK rifles, 10 magazines, 380 bullet rounds, 2 KGs IED explosive substances and 1 Chinese grenade, as revealed by police personnel.

Meanwhile, PDP leader and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, while pointing out that this year’s yatra has resumed after two years, said, “I am sure that Kashmiris will welcome the pilgrims wholeheartedly as always. Despite stringent security measures including shutting down of shops en-route the yatra, it is us the Kashmiris who provide a real sense of security to the yatris”.