Pahalgam attack aftermath: Houses of three suspected terrorists razed in south Kashmir
Srinagar (PTI): The houses of three suspected terrorists have been razed by authorities in the Kashmir Valley. It is seen as a crackdown on terrorism days after the dastardly Pahalgam attack in which 26 people were killed.
Officials on Saturday said that houses of the alleged terrorists were demolished in Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts of south Kashmir on Friday night.
Earlier, the houses of two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, including that of the Pahalgam terror attack's prime suspect, were destroyed when explosives believed to be stored there went off during the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.
On Friday night, the house of Ahsan ul Haq Sheikh in the Muran area of Pulwama district was torn down, officials said, adding that he was "trained in Pakistan" in 2018 and had recently "infiltrated" into the Valley.
In a similar action in Chotipora of the Shopian district, the house of an active top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Shahid Ahmad Kuttay was razed, they said. Kuttay, active for the past three to four years, has been involved in many anti-national activities, the officials claimed.
At the Matalhama area of the Kulgam district, the residence of Zakir Ahmad Ganie, who has been active since 2023 and was under surveillance for his alleged involvement in multiple terror-related activities, was also pulled down during the night, they said.
With this, five residences of alleged terrorists have been razed.
On Friday, the houses of Aadil Hussain Thokar, accused of helping in the execution of the Pahalgam bloodbath, and Asif Sheikh, also believed to be involved in the attack, were being searched by security forces when an explosion damaged the structures in Bijbehara and Tral.
Explosives were supposedly found on the premises during the search operation, prompting the security forces to evacuate the occupants of the houses as well as neighbours to safety before they went off.
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IAF to hold 2-day wargame along frontier with Pakistan: NOTAM issued
New Delhi, May 6 (PTI): The Indian Air Force will carry out a two-day mega military exercise along the border with Pakistan from Wednesday that will involve all the frontline fighter jets including Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar aircraft, sources in the defence establishment said on Tuesday.
The exercise is taking place amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
India's civil aviation authorities have already issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for the major air exercise that will largely take place along the southern and western section of the Indo-Pakistan border.
India's frontline fighter jets including the Rafale, Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Mirage-2000, Tejas and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft are set to feature in the exercise, the sources said.
In the course of the exercise, the IAF will simulate enemy targets on ground and in the air with deadly precision, they said.
The militaries of both India and Pakistan are on a high alert following rising tensions between the two nations.
Soon after the Pahalgam terror attack, India, citing "cross-border linkages" to the strike, promised severe punishment to those involved in it.
In a high-level meeting with the top defence brass on April 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the armed forces have "complete operational freedom" to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India's response to the terror attack.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh met Prime Minister Modi on Sunday and the Chief of Air Staff briefed him about the IAF's operational readiness.
On Saturday, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi apprised the prime minister on the overall situation in the critical sea lanes in the Arabian Sea.
