The security forces tracked the mastermind of terrorist attack in which 26 civilians were shot dead in the Baisaran valley of Pahalgam on April 22 after a hunt of 3 months and 6 days. This morning, the security forces also neutralized the terrorist along with his two accomplices in an operation in an area near Srinagar in retaliation of the attack.
Suleiman Shah is a former commando of the Special Service Group (SSG) of mainly the Pakistan Army, who is a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist. According to the sources, he later joined UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed led LeT in order to conduct terror activities.
Operation Mahadev was started earlier this morning in a combined effort by the Army, CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police to track, corner and hunt the terrorists.
The operation is being considered a great success by the forces because the killing of Suleiman has occurred. Post the Pahalgam attack, Jammu and Kashmir Police had declared a reward of Rs 20 lakh to any person who could help to give information about Suleiman.
In September of the year 2023, Suleiman sneaked into India and began terror activities in South Kashmir. In October 2024, he was present at an attack where seven civilians were killed as the terrorists opened fire on a camp which consisted of workers of a personal firm who were working on a tunnel.
He also participated in an assault in Baramulla where four security men were killed during the assault. Informants in security institutions said that he had participated in at least six carnage acts of terrorism. Following the attack on Pahalgam a house-to-house operation was conducted by security forces in order to trace Hashim Musa/Suleiman Shah.
Operation Mahadev
It is learnt that all the terrorists are high-value and foreigners. The security forces were reported to have been an intelligence input and made the operation in Mulnar area of Harwan. There has been rush of Reinforcements to the scene and a combing exercise is being done.
As sources say other arms and ammunitions, 17 rifle grenades and Carbine and AK- 47 rifles were recovered during the encounter. Security agencies have expressed the suspicion that there were grand plans of bringing a terrorist action in Jammu and Kashmir.
There was a physical and electronic surveillance by the security forces. The operation was carried out after the forces got a hint that there was an active Chinese ultra radio communication. The Chinese radio is to carry encrypted messages by the Lashkar-e-Taiba and in 2016 its also referred to as WY SMS.
Operation Sindoor
On the night of May 6 and 7, India launched precision strikes, at around 1 am, in the terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir as a response to the Pahalgam attack. India attacked camps in Pakistan and PoK where plannings and executions of terrorist attacks were being made. The strikes which came under the codename Operation Sindoor (dedicated to the women who had lost their husbands in the Pahalgam attack) were conducted in nine locations.
The Indian retaliatory operation was meant to eliminate major logistical, operational and training facilities possessed by LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizbul Mujahideen as well as other associated groups.
All the nine location where they chose to carry out the operation were previously involved in large terrorist plans and intrusion centers targeting India.
Muridke is one of the sites and it is where Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist outfit headed by Hafiz Saeed is located and Bahalwapur is located in Punjab province in Pakistan and operated by Jaish-e-Mohammad, headed by Masood Azhar.
14 Days, 1 Mission, Mahadev Peak: How Pahalgam Mastermind Was Hunted Down
In Jammu and Kashmir the security forces retaliated against the Pahalgam attack when they nabbed the mastermind, Suleiman Shah, alias Hashim Musa, in an encounter in Srinagar today. This was code named Operation mahadev wherein three terrorists were eliminated in a carefully pre-planned encounter which took days to plan and execute.
Former commando of the elite unit of Pakistan Army – Special Service Group (SSG), Suleiman Shah is a terrorist belonging to a Pan-Muslim group the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He went on to participate in the terror activities with the LeT which is designated a terrorist organization by the UN and founded by Hafiz Saeed.
Planning of Op Mahadev by Force
The procedure was referred to the Mahadev Peak in Jammu and Kashmir region in Srinagar. The terrorists were concealed in the concealed forests of the Foothills of Mahadev peak. According to sources, the security forces were undertaking a physical and electronic surveillance. On Early July, the Army got suspicious communication.
This operation was undertaken after it was spotted that there was a Chinese ultra radio communication taking place by the forces. Lashkar-e-Taiba communicates in the Chinese radio in coded messages. The troops targeted the Dachigam forests which was believed to be the hideout by the Pahalgam terrorists. The peak is very high and terrorists are believed to be trained in the techniques of jungle warfare.
Lashkar and Jaishn terrorists had been followed by the security forces on 14-day trail until the operation was executed. Lashkar-e-Taiba uses the Chinese radio to send encrypted messages and in 2016 it was also referred to as WY SMS
It is learnt that all the terrorists were high-value targets as well as foreign nationals. As per reports the security forces received an input regarding intelligence and launched the operation in Mulnar area of Harwan. The area has been rushed and reinforcements are being brought in and a combing exercise is underway.
Pahalgam Mastermind Suleiman Shah Among 3 Terrorists Killed In Op Mahadev
With Defence Minister Rajnath Singh initiating the issue of Operation Sindoor in the Parliament, security forces gave a huge blow to the terrorists of Pakistan today with shooting down of three Pakistani terrorists in an encounter near Srinagar, two of those who slaughtered 26 innocents, including children in cold blood in Pahalgam attack some time back.
Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Suleiman Shah was found out to have been the mastermind behind the terror attack of April 22 that rocked the country. Security sources have reported that he was one of the terrorists that were killed during the fighting this morning.
Another two other terrorists, Abu Hamza and Yasir, were neutralised as a part of the operation that is called Operation Mahadev today. To Yasir also he is thought to belong to the Pahalgam killers. Today, the joint operation included security forces of the Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Suleiman was a Pakistani Gendarmerie in the Pakistan Army as well as the Hashim Moosa. Post the terror attack that took place in the Baisaran Valley of Pahalgam, the Jammu and Kashmir Police had offered a reward of Rs 20 lakhs to any person who could submit information about Suleiman.
The official X account of the Indian Army says that Chinar Corps earlier posted that the security forces have launched Operation Mahadev in Lidwas. There is a furious shootout in which three terrorists are neutralised. Priority is being given to the residential and commercial property because of its importance in the operation, the Army said in an update adding that the operation is not over yet.
It is learnt that all the terrorists were the high-value targets. As the reports said, the intelligence input was referred to, and the security forces undertook the operation in the Mulnar sector of Harwan. There is a combing exercise underway and reinforcements have been rushed to the area.
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