Srinagar, May 14 -- Three terrorists, including an operational commander of proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said. The gunfight broke out after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in dense forests of Shukroo Keller area of the south Kashmir district, based on a specific input about the presence of terrorists. "On 13 May 2025, based on specific intelligence of a Rashtriya Rifles unit, about presence of terrorists in general area Shoekal Keller, Shopian, Indian Army launched a search and destroy Operation. During the operation, terrorists opened heavy fire and fierce firefight ensued, which resulted in elimination of three hardcore terrorists," the additional director general (ADG) of public information, Indian Army, said in a post on X. It added that the operation was in progress. This was the first major encounter between security forces and terrorists in close to three weeks in the forests of south Kashmir, where a massive combing operation has been underway since the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people and massively escalated tension between India and Pakistan. J&K police officers said all three slain terrorists were affiliated to LeT and were active in Shopian district. The officers, declining to be named, said two of the slain ultras have been identified as Shahid Ahmad Kutay, 27, and Adnan Shafi Dar, 18, both residents of Shopian. The third terrorist is still to be identified, the officials said. After the Pahalgam attack, security forces had demolished several houses in Kashmir, including those of Kutay and Dar. Kutay, who was allegedly involved in an attack on tourists last year as well as in the killing of a sarpanch in J&K, was acting as an operational commander of LeT, officers said. A category-A terrorist, Kutay was suspected to be involved in the killing of a territorial army jawan in Anantnag earlier this year. Dar, believed to be Category C terrorist, was suspected to be involved in murder of a non-local labourer last year in south Kashmir, officers said. Following the April 22 terror attack at the picturesque Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, army and J&K police launched a massive combing operation in the forests of south Kashmir and Kishtwar district in Jammu division. Police have detained dozens of overground workers across Kashmir Valley for questioning about the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack. Police have already announced a cash reward of Rs.20 lakh for providing information about the terrorists whose pictures and sketches were released by security forces last month....