A Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist identified as Bilal Ahmed Bhat, involved in a series of targeted killings of soldiers, migrant workers, and Pandits in Kashmir’s Shopian district, was killed in an encounter with security forces. The joint operation conducted by the police, army, and CRPF personnel cornered Bilal at a hideout in Shopian’s Chotigam area. When cornered, Bilal opened fire, leading to a gun battle with the security forces. Eventually, Bilal was neutralized, and his body was seized along with a significant cache of weapons, including an AK rifle and magazines. Bilal’s reign of terror included attacks on various individuals, including the killing of Umer Fayaz, an army man from Kulgam’s Sudsan area. He was also responsible for hurling grenades at two migrant laborers in Shopian’s Hermain, resulting in their death. Bilal’s name had also come up in the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit, Sunil Kumar Bhat, in Shopian, and the attack on two others who were seriously injured. According to the police, Bilal had also enticed at least 12 local youths to join terrorist activities. Notably, Bilal didn’t spare members of his own tribe if he saw them as a threat, as evidenced by the killing of an arrested terrorist who was assisting security forces in searching for insurgents in Nowgam in 2022. The encounter site in Chotigam has been secured, and the villagers have been urged to cooperate with security forces to ensure the area is completely sanitized and free of any hidden explosives.