Huge cache of arms, including assault rifles, seized after 3 LeT terrorists killed in Shopian’s Operation Keller

Security forces on Wednesday recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district, a day after three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists were killed in an encounter under Operation Keller. The operation was launched on May 13 in the Shoekal Keller area based on specific intelligence inputs from a Rashtriya Rifles unit about the presence of armed terrorists in the dense forest region.

According to officials, three terrorists affiliated with the Pakistan-backed LeT were neutralised in the joint operation involving the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Central Reserve Police Force, and intelligence agencies. Among those killed were Shahid Kuttay, a category “A” LeT commander who had been active since March 2023, and Adnan Shafi Dar, who joined the group in October 2024. The third terrorist remains unidentified. All recovered items, including assault rifles, grenades, live ammunition, tactical gear, backpacks, and wallets, were found near the encounter site.

Police records show that Kuttay was involved in multiple terror attacks, including the April 8 shooting at Danish Resort in Shopian, which left two German nationals and their driver injured. Dar was accused of killing a migrant labourer in Shopian’s Wachi the same day he joined LeT. Both terrorists were locals from Shopian, and their houses were demolished by authorities following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. Investigators have not yet confirmed a direct link between the slain terrorists and the Pahalgam killings.

Security forces stated that the firefight began when terrorists opened heavy fire during the cordon and search operation in Shoekal Keller. A fierce exchange of gunfire ensued, leading to the death of the three terrorists. A video from the site showed the recovered weapons and personal belongings of the deceased militants laid out following the conclusion of the operation. The identity of the third terrorist is being verified through forensic and intelligence analysis.

This was the second major counterterrorism success in Kashmir this year, following the March 16 operation in Handwara where a Pakistani terrorist was killed. Security forces continue to maintain high alert across the region, especially in the wake of the Indian airstrikes on May 7 targeting nine terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under Operation Sindoor.