Zahid Wani, the commander of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), was shot and killed along with three other terrorists - one of them from Pakistan. The incident occurred in Pulwama district in south Kashmir on Saturday evening. An operation led to success through the collaboration of Jammu and Kashmir police with lieutenant general Devendra Pratap Pandey's XV Corps, or Chinar Corps.

Zahid Wani was sought by security forces for several years, and the J&K police, upon receiving information about the JeM commander, carried out a search operation in the Naira area of Pulwama. A police encounter followed the search operation, in which Wani was killed along with three other terrorists, including a Pakistani named Kafil, according to police.

Among the leading JeM commanders after Lamboo and Sameer Dar, Wani was arrested in Srinagar in 2016 for harbouring two TuM operatives from Parimpora, both terrorists trained by the Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM). He was an extremist and a hardcore Jihadi, who provided the two terrorists with camouflage gear.

After Sameer Dar, the mastermind behind the Pulwama attack, was killed by security forces last year, he became the top Jaish commander in south Kashmir.

Considering that Wani was the leader and planner of the remaining JeM terrorists in the valley, his death is expected to disrupt their activities. Since Wani was actively involved in the recruitment of young boys, security establishment officials believe that local recruitment in JeM may decrease in the near future. The other three terrorists killed in the Pulwama encounter have been identified as Waheed Ah Reshi, a resident of Khadarmuh, Inayaitullah Mir, a resident of Naira where the operation took place, and Kafil aka Chotu, a Pakistan-based terrorist.

In a separate encounter in central Kashmir's Budgam district, another terrorist associated with Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the local The Resistance Front (TRF) was killed. There was also evidence of incriminating material found on the site, including an AK 56 rifle.

During 11 encounters with security forces in January alone, 21 terrorists, including eight Pakistanis, were neutralized. Following the recent killings of civilians in the Kashmir valley that specifically targeted minorities and migrants, security forces have intensified counterterrorism operations in the valley.

Image source: India tv