In a significant breakthrough, Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday arrested a man who provided logistical support to the terrorists involved in the April 22 Pahalgam attack.
As per police sources, the
man, identified as 26-year-old Mohammad Yousuf Kataria, was arrested after an analysis of weapons seized during July’s Operation Mahadev.
Kataria, a key Lashkar-e-Taiba (TRF) operative and a native of Kulgam district, was called in for questioning for two days, after which he was formally arrested.
According to police sources, he has been accused of providing logistic support to terrorists, who were killed in Dachigam forest under Operation Mahadev in July this year.
“Srinagar Police have arrested an OGW from South Kashmir, identified as Mohd Yousuf Katari (26) of Kulgam. He had a role in providing logistical support to the terrorists killed in Operation Mahadev,” a police official told CNN News18.
Pahalgam Attack
In one of the biggest attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, Lashkar-linked terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists in Pahalgam on Tuesday, April 22, killing at least 26 people, including foreign tourists, and injuring many others. The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar offshoot, claimed responsibility for the attack, although it later backtracked after massive global outrage.
India responded with Operation Sindoor on May 7, bombing nine terrorist camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in pre-dawn strikes that killed at least 100 militants. The operation sparked four days of cross-border fighting involving fighter jets, missiles and artillery.
Operation Mahadev
Later, Operation Mahadev unfolded over weeks starting May 22, when security forces received intel about terrorists hiding in Dachigam near Srinagar. After weeks of observation – during which time the military intercepted encrypted comms on China-origin devices – the assault began July 28.
Army’s elite para commandos gunned down Sulieman alias Asif, the alleged mastermind of the April 22 attack, along with two of his associates, in an encounter at Mulnar in Harwan area near Dachigam National Park.
The other terrorists killed in the action were identified as Jibran, who was allegedly involved in the Sonamarg Tunnel attack last year, and Hamza Afghani.
During the operation, the army also found a terror hideout and recovered multiple guns, including AK-47 and M9 assault rifles. These and other weapons and equipment were what helped J&K Police track down and apprehend Mohd Kataria.
