Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, July 5

Security forces on Sunday resumed a large-scale operation in south Kashmir’s Shopian district after an overnight pause, officials said.

The operation, involving the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), entered its second day with additional troops reinforcing the cordon around the suspected hideout to prevent the militants from escaping through the thick vegetation that characterises the area during the summer months.

The encounter began on Saturday after surveillance systems detected the movement of suspected militants in the orchard belt.

Troops moved in to establish a cordon, but came under fire from the militants, triggering an exchange of gunfire that continued intermittently before search operations were suspended overnight.

Security forces resumed the operation at first light on Sunday, expanding the search grid and deploying additional personnel from the Army’s Victor Force to seal potential escape routes through the orchards and adjoining villages.

Officials said search teams were conducting systematic searches while maintaining a tight security perimeter around the suspected location of the militants.

The dense canopy created by summer foliage has complicated the operation, limiting aerial and ground visibility and providing natural concealment that militants have historically exploited to evade security forces.

To counter these challenges, security personnel have deployed illumination equipment and enhanced surveillance measures to monitor movement after dark, while continuing methodical searches during daylight hours, officials said.

By Saturday evening, security forces had cleared four villages surrounding the encounter site but maintained restrictions and a heavy security presence in the remaining area where the militants are believed to be trapped.

According to officials familiar with the operation, the two suspected militants are believed to be residents of neighbouring Kulgam district, although their identities have not yet been officially confirmed.

The operation comes amid heightened security across Jammu and Kashmir during the ongoing annual Amarnath Yatra, with security agencies maintaining an expanded counter-insurgency grid to prevent militant attacks on the pilgrimage or civilian targets.

The Shopian encounter is the first reported gunfight in Kashmir since an anti-militancy operation in Kulgam in October last year, highlighting a relative decline in encounters over recent months even as security forces continue intelligence-based operations against residual militant networks.

Officials said the operation also underscores the growing reliance on technology-driven surveillance, including closed-circuit television networks and other technical intelligence tools, alongside conventional human intelligence to detect militant movement and launch more targeted operations while reducing the need for prolonged area-wide searches.

The search operation was continuing at the time of filing this report, with security forces maintaining a tight cordon around the area.

Officials said further details would be released as the operation progresses.