Three terrorists were eliminated in two distinct encounters with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. In Anantnag, two terrorists were killed, while one was killed in Khanyar, near Srinagar.

According to sources, a senior commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba was among those killed in the Khanyar encounter. The suspected terrorist, identified as Usman and also known by the aliases Lashkar Ilyas and Chota Waleed, is believed to be a foreign national. His body has been retrieved by the authorities for further identification and investigation.

Security personnel were reportedly monitoring the movements of foreign terrorists in the area when an encounter erupted, resulting in the deaths of two terrorists. Authorities noted that there may be more terrorists still present in the vicinity.

"Now this operation has been completed. Security forces have killed a terrorist, who has been identified as Usman..., he was the commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and 4 security personnel have been injured. He is a foreign terrorist and his role and involvement in the murder of Inspector Masroor has come to light and further investigation is being done in this regard...," IGP Birdi told ANI.

On Saturday morning, security forces initiated one of the largest anti-terror operations, targeting over 30 locations throughout the Jammu region. The search operations were underway in the Doda, Kishtwar, Poonch, and Rajouri areas. On the recent terror attacks and subsequent encounters, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while speaking to reporters in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur said, “This is not an issue of security lapses. Compared to earlier times, attacks have been reduced."

“Our security forces are on alert, such a situation will come that from there (Jammu and Kashmir), terror activities will be fully wiped out and the Union Territory will develop fast. The attacks that happened were unfortunate, our security forces are giving befitting replies also, so many terrorists have been killed," he said on Saturday. The encounters come a day after two labourers from Uttar Pradesh were shot at by terrorists in Budgam district on the evening of November 1.

On October 29, security forces killed two terrorists who were hiding in a forested area near a village in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Describing the operation as “successful,” Major General Sameer Srivastava, General Officer Commanding of the 10 Infantry Division, stated that the terrorists were believed to be planning a “major strike.”

“We were ready as we were getting information continuously. They were encircled in an area and we used technology for surveillance, including unmanned aerial vehicles and artificial intelligence," he added. Major General Srivastava reported that the terrorists had entered the area from the hinterland with the intention of targeting a security convoy, but prompt action by the forces disrupted their plans.