Intelligence agencies have identified 14 terrorists —eight belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and three each from Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM)— currently “active” in the Kashmir Valley, officials aware of the development said.
Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has recorded the statements of survivors of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives and left several others injured, in their respective home states.
To be sure, agencies have claimed there are a total of 50-60 terrorists active in the region, but these 14 are the ones whose exact details, including addresses, have been gathered.
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According to the details of 14 active terrorists, accessed by HT, a majority of them joined the ranks of Pakistan-backed outfits after 2021, and are in their early 20s. They are “active” in Shopian (five) and Pulwama (four), Anantnag (two) and one each in Sopore, Awantipora and Kulgam.
The eight terrorists affiliated to Hafiz Saeed-led LeT have been identified by the agencies as Adil Rehman Dentoo, 22, a resident and district commander of Sopore, who joined the outfit on March 5, 2021; Ahsan Ahmed Sheikh, 24, from Murran in Pulwama (June 24, 2023); Haris Nazar, 21, from Kacchipora in Pulwama (June 24, 2023); Naseed Ahmed Wani, 22, from Doompora in Shopian (November 30, 2019); Shahid Ahmad Kutay, 27, from Heerpora in Shopian who has been associated with LeT and its offshoot The Resistance Front (TRF) since March 8, 2023; Aamir Ahmad Dar from Shopian who joined LeT on September 30, 2023; Adnan Shafi Dar, 18, from Zainapora in Shopian who joined LeT/TRF on November 18, 2024; and Zakir Ahmad Ganie, 28, from Mutalhama in Kulgam who joined LeT on September 29, 2023.
Ahsan Sheikh is suspected to be involved in the April 22 Pahalgam attack along with four others and his house has already been destroyed by the security forces. The house of Shahid Kutay has also been razed.
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The three JeM members in the list of active terrorists put together by intelligence agencies include Asif Ahmad Sheikh, 25, from Tral, who joined the Maulana Masood Azhar-led outfit on April 18, 2022; Amir Nazir Wani, 20, from Khasipora in Tral (April 26, 2024); and Yawar Ahmad Bhat from Tral (August 26, 2024).
Asif Sheikh’s name has also figured in the Pahalgam terror attack, “which means it is possible that JeM assisted LeT in the killings on the directions of Pakistan’s spy agency ISI”, an officer said. Sheikh’s residence in Tral was demolished by security forces on Friday.
The other three active terrorists are from Hizbul Mujahideen, the Pakistan backed outfit led by Syed Salahuddin. They have been identified as Asif Ahmed Khanday, 22, from Wanpora in Shopian who joined the outfit in July 2015; Zubair Ahmad Wani alias Abu Ubaida, 39, from Doora in Anantnag (April 19, 2018); and Harood Rashid Ganai, 32, from Hassanpora in Anantnag (June 2021). Zubair Wani is now the chief operational commander of the outfit in Anantnag.
The intelligence listing, according to a second officer, reveals that “Ganai exfiltrated to Pakistan in 2018 and was in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) till recently”.
Wani and Khanday are A+ and A category terrorists, respectively, in the Valley. Officials pointed out that categories such as A+, A, B and C etc are determined based on terrorist’s nationality, training, exclusivity, duration of activation, number of terror attacks carried out, weapons in their possession, and popularity, etc.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday released sketches of three terrorists including two Pakistanis — Ali Bhai alias Talha Bhai and Hashim Musa alias Suleiman — and local operative Adil Hussain Thoker and announced a ₹20-lakh bounty on each of them.
HT had earlier reported that Musa is involved in at least three previous attacks in J&K, including the May 2024 ambush on an IAF convoy in Poonch.
Meanwhile, officials familiar with the investigation said that NIA is currently recording statements of the survivors of the attack by going to their hometowns to get a clear picture on the sequence of events of the attack, number of terrorists involved, their accent, etc. The NIA teams are learnt to have already gone to Pune, Kolkata and other places.
The security forces are conducting a joint interrogation of several overground workers in J&K while also hunting for the terrorists, officials said.