How security forces killed Pahalgam attack mastermind, 2 other terrorists in J&K Operation Mahadev

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The Indian Army’s Special Forces have killed Suleman Shah alias Hashim Musa, the mastermind behind the recent Pahalgam terror attack in the massive security operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Dachigam on July 28 (Monday).

Musa is reported to be a key operative linked to cross-border terror networks, who was neutralized in a high-intensity operation following weeks of coordinated intelligence efforts.

The security forces said at least three terrorists were killed on Monday in a fierce gunfight in the dense forests of Harwan near Dachigam in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Three terrorists have been neutralised in an intense firefight. Operation continues," the Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps posted on X.

The encounter came amid a massive security operation to hunt down those behind the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.

Agencies are yet to identify the terrorists killed in the Dachigam encounter, however, one of them was identified as Hashim Musa, the mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack, according to CNN-News18.

It is suspected that they belonged to Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Previously, two harbourers, identified as Parvez and Bashir Ahmed, arrested earlier by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), said that three Pakistani Lashkar terrorists were involved in the Pahalgam terror attack.

According to the report, top officials in Jammu and Kashmir said that while bringing the bodies down will take time, the drone photography method was being used to ascertain the identities of the dead terrorists. They reportedly said that the photos will be shown to the arrested harbourers to identify the killed terrorists.

How terrorists were killed in Dachigam encounter

According to CNN-News18, intelligence inputs gathered over the past month had indicated that some of the terrorists involved may have moved towards the Dachigam region, located roughly 20 km from Srinagar’s city centre.

A satellite phone linked to the Pahalgam attack, which had not been in use, became active again two days ago, which led to a security operation in the Dachigam forest in Srinagar. A Huawei satellite phone was reportedly used by the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack, but the device had not been used since the attack.

Top security grid sources told CNN-News18 that a suspicious call from this device, two days ago, was the trigger for the operation.

“OP MAHADEV – Contact established in General Area Lidwas. Operation in progress," Srinagar-based Chinar Corps of the Army posted on its X handle.

This communication device under scanner since the April 22 Pahalgam attack could have blown the Dachigam hideout, it is reported.

The intelligence agencies tracking the phone observed that a call was made using the device two days ago and later, the location of the device was found to be inside Dachigam, with no human habitation around it. As the input developed further, an operation was launched in the Dachigam forest on Monday.

Top intelligence sources confirmed to CNN-News18 that all three dead terrorists were foreign nationals affiliated with the LeT. They said that the security forces, acting on an intelligence input, launched an anti-militancy operation in the Mulnar area of Harwan.

Two rounds of gunshots were heard from a distance as security personnel were carrying out searches, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying. Reinforcements were rushed to the area, and the combing operations intensified to track down the terrorists, they said.