Pakistani mastermind of Pahalgam terror attack and his two associates killed in Srinagar gunbattle

Srinagar, July 28 -- Security forces achieved a major success by eliminating the Pakistani mastermind behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack along with his two associates in an encounter in the Harwan-Dachigam forest area on the outskirts of Srinagar today. Officials said Pakistani terrorist Suleiman Shah, belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba, the alleged mastermind behind the Pahalgam attack that left 25 tourists and a local dead, was killed in a joint operation led by Army's elite para commandos.

The anti-terror operation, codenamed Operation Mahadev, was launched in the general area of Lidwas Dachigam following a specific input about the militant movement in the area.

"The terrorists were hiding in a dense forest where they were zero...