2 Terrorists' Family Homes Demolished In Kashmir Day After Anantnag Attack

Two houses belonging to the families of terrorists were demolished during overnight operations as security forces intensified crackdown on terrer networks in Kashmir. The action comes a day after a policeman was killed in a terrorist attack in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.

A residential house belonging to family of Adil Ahmad Thokar, a Laskar-e-Toiba terrorist, was destroyed in a powerful blast during the operation. The explosion also damaged nearby houses, a religious structure and and a parked vehicle, officials and locals said. 

This is the second time the Thokar family's house has been demolished. Following the Pahalgam terror attack in April last year, forces razed their house at Guri village of south Kashmir's Anantnag district. 

According to locals the family later constructed a new house and had shifted there only a few months ago. Locals said the family was asked to vacate the house on Wednesday night before it was destroyed.

In a seperate operation, another house belonging to the family of Haroon rashid, a Laskar terrorist, was demolished.

Officials said both Haroon and Adil have been active terrorist since 2018. 

Local recruitment in terrorist ranks has dropped to almost zero, with no official recorded cases of local youth joining terror groups in the first seven months of this year, officials said, adding a small number of surviving local terrorists continue to pose a security challenge with the support of terrorists infiltrating from Pakistan.

The demolition of houses was carried out amid a large scale security crackdown across Kashmir, with around 2000 suspects detained for questioning following the Anantnag terror attack. 

Head constable Ashique Ahmad Qureshi was killed in the terrorist attack in a busy market place of Anantnag on Wednesday afternoon. 

Following the attack, Jammu and Kashmir police carried out raids and search oeprations across Kashmir and hundreds of suspects were detained for questioning.

Officials sources said around 2,000 suspected Over Ground Workers (OGWs) - a term used for those working or supporting terrorist groups - have been taken into custody, including 700 in Srinagar district alone. 

In a statement, the police said the major operation that followed was aimed at dismantling the ecosystem supporting terrorism.

"Srinagar police conducted extensive district-wide raids across multiple locations following the recent terror incident in Anantnag. The coordinated operations, carried out on the basis of credible intelligence and as part of an ongoing investigation, resulted in the detention of nearly 700 suspected OGWs for questioning and verification in accordance with established legal procedures," it said.

Other districts also issued statements about detentions within hours of the Anantnag attack. The Baramulla district police said that it had detained 178 suspects and raids are still ongoing, while the number was 200 in Budgam and 100 in Ganderbal. 

"The operation is part of the ongoing counter-terrorism and preventive security measures being undertaken to maintain peace and public order. The police remain committed to taking all necessary lawful measures to safeguard the district and further action will be taken based on the outcome of the ongoing investigation and verification process," the Budgam police said in a statement.