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In a major breakthrough, the Army’s elite para commandos on Monday shot dead the alleged mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack along with two of his associates in an encounter in a forest area on Srinagar’s outskirts in Kashmir, officials said here.

The officials said Sulieman alias Asif, who is believed to be the mastermind of the April 22 attack, was killed after the security forces launched a surprise operation following a technical signal indicating the use of a satellite phone that was also used by the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack.

The other terrorists killed in the Army action, codenamed ‘Operation Mahadev’, have been identified as Jibran — who was allegedly involved in the Sonamarg Tunnel attack last year — and Hamza Afghani.

As many as 26 persons — mostly tourists — were shot dead by terrorists at Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam, which prompted the armed forces to launch Operation Sindoor on May 7 against the terror infrastructure in Pakistan.