Security forces resumed the search operation in Kulgam on Thursday after the CRPF post attack near Mir Bazar
Two heavily armed terrorists opened fire from a forested patch and fled towards Naupur after injuring three CRPF personnel
One injured jawan remains in a critical condition, while the others suffered abdominal, arm, leg and foot injuries
Security forces restarted the hunt on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district for two terrorists who fired at a CRPF post a day earlier, injuring three personnel, PTI reported. One of the wounded jawans remains critical.
The attack took place around 2.15 pm on Wednesday near Mir Bazar, about 75 km from Srinagar and around a kilometre from the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. Officials reported that the two heavily armed men emerged from a dense cluster of trees, fired at the post and fled into the forested area.
Security forces quickly sealed off the area and began a large search operation. They picked up the hunt again on Thursday morning, extending checks across Kulgam and stepping up scrutiny at multiple points in the district. Officials told PTI that human and technical intelligence is also being used to support the operation.
Attack And Response
The trail shifted quickly. Initial reports suggested the attackers had arrived on a motorcycle, but officials reported to PTI that joint search operations by the Army and other security agencies found no two-wheeler was involved.
Officials said the pair walked up to the checkpost from a wooded stretch roughly 50 metres away. One man fired while the other covered him, and both then ran back through the same trees towards Naupur. "The area has dense vegetation resembling a small forest, which the terrorists used as cover before and after the attack," an official told PTI.
Security forces recovered a Motorola phone and a SIM card from the site. The injured troopers were taken to a hospital in Anantnag district, about 22 km away, where medical staff moved quickly to help them on stretchers. One CRPF jawan had serious abdominal injuries, while the other two suffered lighter wounds, including a bullet graze on the arm and injuries to the leg and foot.
Security has stepped up sharply. Forces have erected barricades, deployed armoured vehicles and begun checking and frisking vehicles at security checkpoints while maintaining a tight vigil, officials reported to PTI. Announcements were also made over loudspeakers asking local residents to stay indoors.
Investigators are reviewing CCTV from nearby shops and businesses to trace the gunmen's route. Clips from the area show closed shutters, the crackle of gunfire and shouting, while injured CRPF jawans run towards the attackers.
Officials also pointed to prior warnings. There were specific intelligence inputs about suspected terrorist movement in the area, an official told PTI. "The high state of alertness and prompt retaliation by security personnel on the spot effectively thwarted the terrorists' plans, preventing them from inflicting heavy casualties or large-scale damage," a senior official said.
Suspected Militant Link
Investigators suspect Mohammed Lateef Bhat is behind the attack. Security agencies believe the local commander of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, who escaped a security operation in Shopian in July, played a role in the strike.
Investigators also suspect Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Mohammad Latief Bhat alias Lateef Bhat, whom officials call Kashmir valley's most wanted terrorist, in the CRPF naka party attack. They say the strike fit a pattern seen in July — a sudden volley of gunfire followed by a quick getaway — and matches the same shoot-and-scoot style used in that earlier series of attacks. Bhat and other terrorists had then sprayed a CRPF checkpoint with bullets, injuring three personnel, before the gunman slipped away and blended into the crowd.
CCTV reviewed by the Police showed CRPF personnel ducking for cover as 30 rounds were fired in 15 seconds. The CRPF response forced Lateef to flee the spot and take shelter nearby. Casings picked up from the Kulgam site also matched those recovered after previous attacks, deepening suspicion about Bhat and his group.
Officials suspect Bhat works with Pakistani terrorists and shifts between South Kashmir hideouts with help from overground workers. Police put up his posters four days ago and announced a reward of Rs 15 lakh for information on his movements and network. Fresh inputs indicate he was seen in Srinagar recently, prompting police to paste his posters across the city and ask people to report his whereabouts. The notices also named three other wanted terrorists from Baramulla who are now operating from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Security forces have also begun questioning overground workers across South Kashmir to break Bhat's support base.
A senior official linked the case to wider pressure on militant groups. "They are finding it increasingly difficult to carry out strikes due to heightened operational readiness and robust area domination by security forces. The alertness and professional response of our security personnel on the ground averted a major incident and deserve high appreciation," the official told PTI.
Bhat, a resident of Kulgam, is linked to The Resistance Front, a proxy of Lashkar. He was trapped along with Lashkar commander Zakir Ganai in a five-day encounter in Shopian, where Ganai was killed and Bhat escaped. Agencies suspected that since then Bhat had reactivated sleeper cells to carry out targeted killings of non-locals and security personnel at the behest of handlers across the border. The brief further said Bhat studied up to Class 12 at Government Higher Secondary School, Ashmuji, later joined Government Degree College, Kulgam, dropped out midway and worked as a carpenter at a beading-machine unit in Khrewan before going underground.
After the July killings, security officials said his handlers across the border asked him to lie low for some time, which he did before quietly rebuilding his network. Fresh intelligence inputs said terrorists in the valley had again been instructed to do something "big", and officials believe the Kulgam attack could be the beginning of that renewed push. He went missing from home on November 19, 2025, prompting his family to file a missing person report at Kulgam police station. Investigators say he had by then slipped underground and joined TRF, allegedly radicalised by terrorist Zakir Ahmad.
Political Fallout And Context
The attack came during a high-level visit. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha was in Kulgam on Wednesday, though he was not near the scene of the firing.
The area lies close to the Pir Panjal mountain range, which connects south Kashmir's Kulgam with Ramban, Reasi and Rajouri districts in Jammu division. Kulgam has seen multiple recent terror incidents, including the killing of two labourers from Chhattisgarh at a brick kiln on July 31 and the shooting of a police constable in neighbouring Anantnag earlier that month.
Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured CRPF jawans and criticised the Lieutenant Governor's administration over the security situation. The National Conference president said the administration, which is responsible for law and order, must be held accountable if violence continues despite repeated public claims that terrorism has been eradicated. He also urged the administration to bridge existing gaps, build a robust security mechanism and engage local communities to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the attack. The PDP reported on its X handle, according to PTI, saying: "JKPDP President Ms. @MehboobaMufti strongly condemns the attack on CRPF personnel in Kulgam. Such acts of violence are unacceptable and deserve unequivocal condemnation."
Mufti wished the injured personnel a speedy recovery. "There can be no place for violence in a society that yearns for lasting peace, stability and dignity," she added.
