A week after a fierce encounter in the higher reaches of the Doda district, security forces have recovered the decomposed body of a Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist from the upper reaches of Seoj Dhar in Bhaderwah.
Officials said the remnants and the night-enabled automatic rifle were retrieved near a glacier in the high-altitude Seoj Dhar forest area, which connects Doda’s Bhaderwah valley with the neighbouring Udhampur and Kathua districts. The identity of the slain terrorist has not yet been established.
The slain terrorist is believed to have been neutralised earlier in a separate joint operation in the same belt, with his remains surfacing only now as troops combed the treacherous upper reaches of the region.
The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Doda police, along with the Army’s Rashtriya Rifles and the CRPF, carried out the retrieval operation.
Announcing the find on X, Jammu and Kashmir Police struck a defiant note: “You can run, but you can’t hide! SOG Doda, RR and CRPF retrieved the remains of a Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist, who was neutralised earlier in a joint op. A night-enabled M4 has also been recovered.”
Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat had personally reviewed the operation in the area two days earlier, alongside Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone Tejinder Singh — underlining the priority security agencies have placed on the Doda offensive.
Earlier Pakistani terrorist killed in Budgam
The Doda recovery comes close on the heels of a separate encounter in Budgam, where a joint operation by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and the Srinagar Sector CRPF killed a Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist. The Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps and Jammu and Kashmir Police confirmed the kill.
The killed terrorist was identified as Yasir, a Pakistani national and an operative of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
According to officials, the encounter followed intelligence inputs about the movement of a group of terrorists from Pakherpora in neighbouring Pulwama district towards the forested areas of Yusmarg. Acting on the information, a joint team comprising the Indian Army’s Special Forces, 53 Rashtriya Rifles, J&K Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a search operation in the Ashdar Gali area.
During the operation, troops detected suspicious movement and challenged the suspected terrorists. The terrorists responded with gunfire, triggering an exchange of fire in the dense forest area. One terrorist was subsequently neutralised. An AK-47 rifle was also recovered from the encounter site.
Sources said Yasir was earlier associated with the Sulaiman Musa group of Lashkar-e-Taiba, but had reportedly separated from the group around a year ago and was operating independently since then. Security agencies had been tracking his movements and activities in the Yusmarg area for some time.
After breaking away from the group, Yasir had allegedly emerged as an important LeT operative in the area. His presence in the high-altitude forested terrain of Yusmarg prompted security forces to intensify surveillance and eventually launch the operation that culminated in the encounter.
Following his elimination, security agencies have launched a detailed investigation into Yasir’s network, his links with other LeT operatives and the activities carried out by him in the region. Investigators are also examining whether he had any role in planning, facilitating or executing recent terror-related activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
The killing assumes significance as security forces have intensified counter-terrorism operations across the Union Territory to dismantle the remaining networks of Pakistan-based terror outfits.
Sulaiman Musa, also known as Hashim Musa, was among the key accused and alleged masterminds linked to the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. He was subsequently killed by security forces in an encounter in the Dachigam forest area of Srinagar.
The latest operation in Yusmarg is part of intensified efforts by security forces to track and neutralise terrorists operating from forested and difficult-to-access areas of Jammu and Kashmir.