Massive Victory for Security Fources: Pahalgam Attack Mastermind and Two More Terrorists Killed

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, July 28: Taking away an important talking point of the opposition to criticise the government on the Pahalgam terror attack, the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday avenged the April 22 killings in which 26 innocent tourists were gunned down, by neutralising three terrorists including the Pahalgam mastermind Suleiman Shah, alias Hashim Musa, in an encounter in Srinagar.

As Parliament was discussing the “Operation Sindoor” and the Pahalgam terror attack with opposition mounting attack on the government and the treasury benches counting the gains of the Indian army, the security forces scored a massive victory by gunning down three Pakistani terrorists in the Srinagar codenamed “Operation Mahadev” that was planned meticulously for several days before execution. Among the three killed were two terrorists also believed to be involved in the Pahalgam attack.

Suleiman Shah, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, is a former commando of the Pakistan Army’s elite unit – Special Service Group (SSG). He later joined UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed’s LeT to carry out terror activities, sources said.

The operation was named after Mahadev Peak in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar. The terrorists were hiding in the dense forests in the foothills of Mahadev peak. Sources said the security forces were keeping a physical and electronic surveillance. The Army received suspicious communication in Early July.

Security sources have confirmed that Suleiman Shah was among the terrorists killed in the encounter and the two other terrorists neutralised were identified as Abu Hamza and Yasir. Yasir, too, is believed to be among the Pahalgam killers. Security forces from the Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police were part of Monday’s joint operation.

Suleiman served in the Pakistan Army and was also known as Hashim Musa. In the aftermath of the terror attack at Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley, the Jammu and Kashmir Police had announced a Rs 20 lakh reward on anyone providing information about Suleiman.

Sources said a communication device under scanner since the April 22 Pahalgam attack is learnt to have blown the Dachigam hideout of the wanted terrorists. A suspicious call from this device, two days ago, set the alarm bells ringing.

The input was developed further, and an operation was launched in the Dachigam forest on Monday.

The device, believed to be a Huawei satellite phone reportedly used by the terrorists during the Pahalgam attack, had remained inactive since then. However, when intelligence agencies detected renewed activity on the device, they quickly narrowed down its location to a remote part of the Dachigam forest, far from any human habitation. The input was swiftly developed, and based on the coordinates, a full-scale operation was launched in the area on Monday.

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. However, intelligence agencies tracking the phone observed that a call was made using the device two days ago. Subsequently, the location of the device was found to be deep inside Dachigam, with no human habitation around it. Two harbourers, identified as Parvez and Bashir Ahmed, arrested earlier by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), had also said three Pakistani Lashkar terrorists were involved in the Pahalgam terror attack.

The official X account of the Indian Army’s Chinar Corps earlier posted that the security forces have launched Operation Mahadev in Lidwas. “Three terrorists have been neutralised in an intense firefight. Operation Continues,” the Army said in an update, adding that the operation is not over yet.

All the terrorists, it is learnt, were “high-value” targets and foreign nationals. According to reports, the security forces acted on an intelligence input and launched the operation in the Mulnar area of Harwan. Reinforcements have been rushed to the area and a combing exercise is on.

The visuals show multiple guns in the hideout located deep inside a forest area. According to sources, Carbine and AK-47 rifles, 17 rifle grenades and other arms and ammunition were recovered during the encounter. Security forces suspect that the terrorists were planning a big action in Jammu and Kashmir.

The forces got a clue about a Chinese ultra radio communication being active, after which the operation was carried out. The Lashkar-e-Taiba uses the Chinese radio for encrypted messages. The forces zeroed in on the Dachigam forests, which were suspected to be the hideout of the Pahalgam terrorists. The peak is at a high altitude, with terrorists reportedly trained in jungle warfare.

The security forces tracked Lashkar and Jaishn terrorists for 14 days before executing the operation. The Lashkar-e-Taiba uses the Chinese radio for encrypted messages, and in 2016, it was also called WY SMS.

After three months and six days, the security forces hunted down the mastermind of the operation killing innocents in cold blood. The killing of Suleiman in the operation is being viewed as a major success for the forces.

Suleiman had infiltrated into India in September 2023 and started terror operations in South Kashmir. In October, last year, he led an attack in which seven civilians were killed when terrorists opened fire on a camp housing workers of a private company who were building a tunnel.

He was also involved in an attack in Baramulla in which four security personnel were killed in action. Sources in security agencies said he was involved in at least six terrorist attacks. After the Pahalgam attack, a house-to-house search was carried out by security forces to track Hashim Musa/Suleiman Shah.

Officials said the fierce gunfight broke out in the dense forests of Harwan near Dachigam. According to intelligence sources, Musa had lost significant weight and altered his hairstyle and beard in an apparent attempt to evade identification. “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. 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.

The operation was actually on for more than a month. They had received human intelligence input about the movement of the terrorists but those were not specific. Special Forces teams were deployed at several axes to track them down and nomads in these areas were thoroughly questioned about their presence, they added.

Dachigam holds strategic significance due to its geographic location — positioned between central and south Kashmir, it provides a crucial link between regions like Sonmarg and Pahalgam. The mountain peaks in this area are interconnected, offering militants a natural corridor to move discreetly across the Valley.

Terror groups have increasingly used these high-altitude routes to evade detection. Operating from these remote mountainous zones keeps them out of sight of security forces. Food and basic supplies are often taken from nomadic communities at gunpoint, with little fear of being reported. Additionally, the challenging terrain slows down the movement of security forces, giving militants enough time to either escape or relocate before troops arrive.