Security Forces Detain 20 in Kulgam After Lashkar-e-Taiba Ambush Injures Three CRPF Soldiers

Security forces have detained 20 suspects and questioned more than 500 people across south Kashmir as investigators zero in on a Lashkar-e-Taiba module responsible for ambushing a Central Reserve Police Force team in Kulgam.

Counter-terror investigators confirmed that local operative Abdul Latief orchestrated the strike alongside two Pakistani terrorists. The assault was clinical and planned. Investigators determined that an entrenched network of overground workers sheltered the three-man hit squad, charted the patrol's routines, and engineered their escape route through pre-scouted terrain.

Fifteen Seconds, Thirty Rounds at Akhran Checkpoint

Pandemonium erupted at 2:15 pm on November 11 near Mir Bazar in Kulgam. Terrorists opened fire on a naka party of the CRPF’s 46th Battalion stationed along the road at Akhran. Initial field alerts suggested the gunmen sped in on a motorcycle. But security camera footage told a far grimmer tale.

Crouched behind thick tree cover inside a swampy stretch 50 metres out, the attackers lay in wait. They never took to the open road. When the patrol stepped into line of sight, the gunmen unleashed a sustained burst with AK-pattern assault rifles. Thirty rounds ripped through the air in just 15 seconds. Then, silence. The attackers melted back into the brush and broken ground before soldiers could pin them down.

Forensic teams recovered 30 spent cartridges from the swamp perimeter. Ballistics analysts are now cross-referencing the firing pin impressions against weapon signatures logged in previous south Kashmir ambushes.

Evacuations to 92 Base Hospital and Search Net

The burst caught three CRPF personnel directly in the kill zone. Head Constable Somveer Singh took a bullet through the arm. Constable Rakesh Dass suffered a gunshot wound to his leg. Constable Santosh Chandru sustained severe penetrating trauma to his abdomen and spine. Medics stabilized all three men at Government Medical College Anantnag before military doctors airlifted Chandru to the 92 Base Hospital in Badami Bagh Cantonment, Srinagar, for emergency neuro-trauma surgery.

Security sweeps began within the hour. Counter-insurgency formations cordoned off contiguous hamlets around Mir Bazar and hauled in over 500 individuals for identification checks over 48 hours. Most were released after field verification. But interrogators separated 20 men for deep debriefing, with three identified as suspected Lashkar overground operatives who allegedly handled logistics and surveillance for the firing team. No formal arrests have been registered on the case docket yet.

Joint search teams comprising the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and the CRPF continue multi-directional cordon operations across Kulgam and Anantnag districts, analyzing multi-angle surveillance feeds to locate the hideout sheltering Latief and his foreign handlers.