3 min readJammuFeb 22, 2026 07:27 PM IST
First published on: Feb 22, 2026 at 02:33 PM IST
Three Pakistani terrorists owing allegiance to Jaish-e-Mohammad were killed during an encounter by a joint team of police, CRPF and the Army on Sunday in the Chatroo area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, officials said.
Though their identity was yet to be ascertained, official sources believed that one of them was the self-styled Jaish commander, Saifullah. All three terrorists had been on the run as security forces have been searching for them since last month.
Last month, Army Havildar Gajendra Singh was killed, and seven other soldiers were injured when terrorists hiding in dense forests opened fire on a search party in the Singhpora area of Chatroo on the intervening night of January 18-19.
Security forces, searching for the terrorists who fled following the encounter, later busted their meticulously built underground hideout that contained rations for a long stay. Thereafter, police and security forces had established contact with them on nearly three occasions in the area, but the terrorists had managed to escape.
This time, however, the terrorists were trapped in an area with almost no vegetation to provide a natural cover to help them escape.
According to officials, police, CRPF and the Army had initiated searches in the Passerkut area following specific information about the presence of terrorists.
The Army’s White Knight Corps in its first post on X said, “Pursuant to credible intelligence inputs from #JKP, #IB and own intelligence sources, a deliberate joint operation was launched in the Kishtwar region under Operation Trashi-1 to track and neutralise terrorists operating in the area.”
“Following successful contact established earlier, troops of CIF Delta White Knight Corps, in close coordination with the Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF, re-engaged the terrorists today at approximately 11 am in challenging terrain. Displaying tactical precision, seamless synergy and resolute aggression, troops dominated the encounter site wherein two terrorists have been successfully neutralised,” it said in a post on X on Sunday.
War-like stores, including two AK-47 rifles, were recovered from the encounter site, the Army said, adding, “The hunt continues — those who seek to disturb peace will find no sanctuary. We serve, we protect!”
Later, in another post, it confirmed the killing of the third terrorist as well, saying that his remains and the weapon have been recovered.
For the past two years, Kishtwar’s Chatroo area has reported terrorist activities.
In April last year, security forces and police, in a joint operation, killed three terrorists in the Chatroo area. The slain terrorists were responsible for the killing of a JCO and two village defence guards (VDGs) in separate attacks in the area in 2024.
The terrorists, reported to be two in number, were hiding in a mud house and opened fire on the search parties, prompting the latter to retaliate. (File photo) 
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