Overview
- Security forces launched an intelligence‑led joint operation called Operation Ashdar in the Ashdar Gali / Yousmarg area after tracking suspected militant movement through Pir Panjal mountain passes.
- Troops made contact during the cordon-and-search effort and, in an exchange of fire on Friday, neutralised one militant and recovered an AK‑series rifle and other war‑like stores.
- Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday identified the slain militant as Yasir, a Pakistani national affiliated with Lashkar‑e‑Taiba, and released his photograph.
- Forces have reinforced the cordon and continued high‑altitude combing operations for at least one other suspected militant believed to be hiding in the rugged terrain, and authorities have advised tourists to avoid nearby Doodhpathri.
- Investigators have opened probes into Yasir’s links with larger LeT networks and his alleged role in multiple 2024 attacks, a line of inquiry that could reshape local counterterror posture and deployments in the Valley.