Intel Input, Technical Surveillance, Eye In The Sky: How Op Mahadev Eliminated Pahalgam Terrorists

Last Updated:July 29, 2025, 13:18 IST

CNN-News18 learned that on Saturday, a suspicious communication sent from a satellite phone, heightened suspicion that Suleiman Shah and his associates were hiding in Dachigam.

Security personnel during a cordon and search operation, near Dachigam in Srinagar district, Jammu and Kashmir, Monday, July 28, 2025, after three terrorists were killed in an encounter. (Image: PTI)

Three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam terror attack – Suleiman alias Faizal Jat, Jibran, and Hamza Afghani – were neutralised in Dachigam forest in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday as part of Operation Mahadev, Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed to Parliament on Tuesday.

Shah stated that the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report of the cartridges found in Pahalgam matched the M9 and two AK-47 rifles recovered in Dachigam. The rifles underwent forensic testing in Chandigarh to corroborate the Pahalgam evidence.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) also asked the arrested harbourers to identify the deceased terrorists. The identification was confirmed after NIA brought the previously arrested harbourers from Kot Lakhpat Jail to the encounter site for on-the-spot verification.

How was this accomplished?

On May 22, a specific intelligence input was received by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), as relayed by Home Minister Amit Shah to the Lok Sabha. This input was further refined using advanced technical surveillance and Operation Mahadev was launched.

CNN-News18 learned that on Saturday, a suspicious communication sent from a satellite phone, which had been under surveillance since the Pahalgam incident, heightened suspicion that Suleiman Shah and his associates were hiding in Dachigam. Given the high altitude and dense forest cover, pinpointing the heavily armed terrorists was challenging. Officials stated that a quadcopter was deployed to pinpoint the terrorists’ hiding location.

Equipped with both human and technical intelligence, a joint operation involving army para commandos, CRPF, and Jammu and Kashmir police was launched.

Sources confirmed that all three were Pakistani nationals and part of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group.

The mastermind, identified as Suleiman Shah, was killed during a surprise offensive launched by security forces after intercepting the technical signal, the satellite phone transmission, believed to have been used by the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack.

Officials said the other two slain terrorists were identified as Jibran, who was allegedly linked to last year’s Sonamarg Tunnel attack, and Hamza Afghani. All three were neutralised in the joint operation, which was backed by sustained intelligence inputs over the past month.

Arunima

Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs. From the Ukraine-Russia War to the India-China stand-off in Ladakh to India-Pak clashes, she has reported from ground zero ...Read More

Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs. From the Ukraine-Russia War to the India-China stand-off in Ladakh to India-Pak clashes, she has reported from ground zero ...

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