Overview
- Security agencies launched a joint cordon-and-search operation after Army surveillance cameras detected two armed suspects moving through an orchard in the Meemandar/Chanpora area on Friday, prompting a wider deployment.
- A gunfight broke out on Saturday evening when the suspects fired at approaching troops, and security forces said the two were spotted and believed to be trapped at the encounter site.
- Multiple outlets and officials named the suspects as Zakir Ahmad Ganie and Latif (both reported residents of Kulgam and linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba), but the identities and fate of the men have not been officially confirmed.
- Forces including Rashtriya Rifles columns, Victor Force units, the CRPF and the J&K Police SOG have tightened a multi-layered cordon, plugged likely escape routes and used lighting to continue searches in the dense orchard.
- Dense summer foliage is creating blind spots that complicate verification and movement, so the operation remains active into a second day with officials appealing for restraint and as-yet-unreleased final statements on the encounter.