In a major coordinated counter-insurgency effort, two terrorists were killed in a joint operation carried out by the Indian Army, paramilitary forces, and the Jammu and Kashmir Police across the Majalta area of Udhampur district. The ground action was set into motion on Wednesday night, September 16, 2026, at approximately 9:00 PM.

Acting on actionable intelligence regarding suspicious movements of unidentified individuals, a combined team comprising troops from the Indian Army, personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and specialists from the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police mobilized to scour the designated perimeter.

Upon reaching the designated coordinates, the joint security detail established a firm cordon around the rural terrain to restrict escape routes and initiated an intensive search. The operation soon turned into an active encounter when the holed-up militants opened fire on the approaching search parties. In response, security forces returned fire and targeted a suspected hideout with rounds of controlled gunfire and tactical blasts, which resulted in the neutralisation of two armed assailants. Commenting on the tactical engagement on the morning of Thursday, September 17, 2026, authorities on the ground stated: “During the ensuing gunfight, two terrorists have been killed. The operation is still going on in the area. The exact identity of the slain terrorists is being ascertained.”

This encounter in Udhampur comes against the backdrop of sustained counter-terror crackdowns across neighboring districts. Just two days prior, on September 15, 2026, the Rajouri Police unraveled a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror network operating in the rugged Pir Panjal region. That operation led to the arrest of three individuals functioning as an overground worker (OGW) network. The three detained men were formally identified by law enforcement as Zakir Hussain, son of Ghulam Hussain, and Mohd Azam, son of Ali Bahadur—both residents of Kotcharwal Teryath in Rajouri—alongside Mohd Mushtaq, son of Mohd Iqbal, residing in Udhan, Rajouri.

Investigating officers noted that these three operatives played an active role in facilitating the smooth transit of active militants moving toward the Kashmir Valley. Their primary duties centered on arranging logistics, scouting safe travel corridors, and offering critical ground assistance. Official findings further indicated that this logistical chain aided armed militants involved in executing multiple high-profile strikes, including incidents where civilian populations were directly targeted.

During subsequent questioning of the trio, investigators secured key disclosures that led directly to the recovery of a live Improvised Explosive Device (IED). Early investigative leads suggest that the explosive assembly had been transferred to these operatives by active militants with specific instructions to hold it in concealed storage until operational orders were issued for a future strike. The local police administration continues to probe the deeper links of this network to uncover any related sleeper cells.

These back-to-back developments reflect an environment of heightened vigilance and round-the-clock surveillance mounted by security agencies across Jammu and Kashmir to check recent spikes in militant movement. The current momentum follows another breakthrough achieved last month, when Jammu and Kashmir Police dismantled a wide-reaching module responsible for managing cross-border infiltration routes that fed the recent uptick in violence across the Jammu division.

In that prior operation, police apprehended the module’s central handler, Mohd Lateef (commonly known as Haji Lateef), alongside eight overground associates: Akhter Ali, Saddam, Kushal, Noorani, Maqbool, Liaquat, Kasim Din, and Khadim. Ground records show that this specific group was responsible for meeting foreign combatants immediately after their clandestine border crossings in the Samba-Kathua sector, organizing their onward transport and shelter deeper within the territory. Security operations in the Majalta sector remain underway as personnel comb the area to secure the vicinity.