In an operation by the security forces in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, one terrorist was killed on Saturday.

Notably, 16 terrorists have been killed in more than a dozen encounters in the last 22 days in the valley. The security forces have intensified their operations against terrorists since the turn of the year.

An operation was launched at Kilbal village in the Shopian district based on a tip-off about the presence of terrorists, the police said. One terrorist was killed in the encounter that followed and the operation is still underway.

Meanwhile, the security forces reportedly suspect the presence of another terrorist in the area and have launched a major operation to track him down.

The core group meeting of security forces on Friday, had said that the frequent operations were conducted based on human intelligence which had helped to reduce collateral damage during operations.

Besides senior military and paramilitary officials, Lt. Gen. DP Pandey, Corps Commander of Army’s 15 Corps and DGP of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh had attended the meeting.

The ceasefire along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan army has improved the security situation along the border, a statement released by the core group read.

There has been a decrease in the infiltration of terrorists from Pakistan, the statement added. However, the meeting asked security forces to remain alert as intelligence inputs stated that terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control are still active.