Jammu and Kashmir: Top LeT commander Altaf Lalli killed during Bandipora encounter

Two police personnel were reportedly injured in the encounter.

The encounter occurred amid intensified efforts by the Indian Army to track down the local and suspected Pakistani terrorists involved in the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that left 26 people, mostly non-Muslim tourists, dead.

Earlier, China Corps posted on X: "On 25 Apr 2025, based on specific intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists, a Joint Search Operation was launched by #IndianArmy and @JmuKmrPolice in general area Kolnar Ajas, Bandipora. Contact was established and firefight ensued."

The Army said the operation is still ongoing.

Sources earlier told India Today that one of the terrorists being pursued by security forces had sustained injuries during the initial exchange of fire.

Army Chief Visiting Jammu and Kashmir

Meanwhile,  Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, when he was briefed about the Bandipora encounter.

He is scheduled to conduct a comprehensive security review of the situation and assess the progress of the operation aimed at tracking down LeT terrorists suspected to be behind the Pahalgam terror attack, reported India Today.

Official sources told UNI news agency that immediately after his arrival, Gen Dwivedi was briefed by the Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps Commander on counter-terror operations in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Houses Of Two Pahalgam Terror Attack Involved Terrorists Demolished

The houses of two local terrorists, who were involved in the Pahalgam terror attack, were demolished in separate blasts in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday night, media reports said.

The houses of Asif Sheikh at Tral, Pulwama district, and Adil Thoker in Bijbehara, Anantnag, were razed to the ground apparently using explosives, several media outlets reported in Srinagar.

As per intelligence sources, Thokar, an Anantnag native who had travelled to Pakistan in 2018 via the Attari-Wagah border, served as a guide and logistics coordinator for Pakistani terrorists who were involved in the Pahalgam terror attack.

Sheikh, who is a resident of Pulwama, is suspected to be involved in the Islamist terror attack which killed 26 tourists, mainly Hindus.

Meanwhile, the Anantnag Police has announced a reward of Rs. 20 lakh for any input leading to the arrest of three LeT terrorists, including Thokar, who are suspected to be orchestrating the terror attack in the Baisaran Valley on April 22.

The two other suspects are Hashim Musa alias Suleman and Ali Bhai alias Talha Bhai.

All three militants are believed to be LeT terrorists.

Pahalgam Attack

The terror attack, which has drawn widespread condemnation from world leaders, has led India and its arch-rival Pakistan to a fresh confrontation, a major one since the Pulwama terror attack which was backed by Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in 2019.

At least 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, were killed by terrorists on Tuesday afternoon.

The Modi government has taken tit-for-tat diplomatic steps against Pakistan, suspending the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty, closing the Attari-Wagah border with an immediate effect, cancelling Pakistani visas under SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme, asking the Pakistani advisors to leave India within a week and reducing the overall strength of High Commissions to 30 from the existing 55 effective from May 1, 2025.

Modi Promises Strong Retaliation

Promising a strong retaliation against Pakistan over one of the worst terror attacks that took place in the popular tourist spot in peak season of tourism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the terrorists and their backers will pay unimaginable costs for the attack on innocent tourists.

Addressing a rally in Bihar's Madhubani, Modi said: "From the soil of Bihar I tell the whole world that India will identify them and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the end of the earth. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished."