Three-month hunt in Pir Panjal ends with killing of LeT terrorist wanted in 19 security personnel deaths

A three-to-four-month joint operation by police and security forces, driven by human intelligence and technical surveillance, in the dense forests south of the Pir Panjal range in Poonch district forced two Pakistani Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists to cross over to Yusmarg in Central Kashmir, officials said.

One of them, Yasir — wanted for the killing of 19 army and security personnel in a series of attacks between 2021 and 2024 in border Poonch district — was killed there on Friday. A hunt is underway for his accomplice, Asif Fouji alias Moosa.

Officials told The Indian Express that sustained pressure from security forces had pushed both terrorists into the dense forests of Loran on the Poonch side of the Pir Panjal — the mountain range that separates the area from the higher reaches of Yusmarg.

After the Buta Pathri attack, the two had dropped off the radar, many assumed they had been killed or had crossed back into Pakistan. Sources in the police said both were in fact moving through the forests of Rajouri and Poonch, with local people too afraid of them to pass on information given their track record of successful attacks on security forces.

Information about their movements began coming in about three months ago, prompting police and security forces to launch joint operations to neutralise them in Dorimal forests of Thanamandi area of Rajouri. The operation continued there for nearly two months, but the terrorists escaped towards Poonch.

Following inputs about their presence in the Surankote area, forces launched a fresh operation ahead of the Buddha Amarnath yatra to Mandi area. Under continued pressure, both took refuge in the dense higher-altitude forests of Loran Mandi.

On August 27, technical surveillance detected their presence in the Loran forests and operations were launched. Two days later, while the operations were in progress, information came that both terrorists had visited a hut and taken food there.

When security forces reached there, the family said the terrorists had warned them not to leave the room after their departure — giving forces no indication of which direction they had fled. Since the area borders the higher reaches of Yusmarg on the other side of the mountain, security forces on that side simultaneously launched search and combing operations, eventually establishing contact with the two terrorists who had been at large since 2021.