Srinagar, May 14 : Terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has suffered a major loss with three of its members, including ‘Operations Commander’ Shahid Kuttay, killed in an encounter in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, an official said on Wednesday.

Kuttay led terrorist recruitment in the Kashmir valley and misled many youths to join the terror group, the person said.

He, and the other two, Adnan Shafi, a resident of Vanduna Melhura area of Shopian, and Ahsan ul Haq Sheikh, a resident of Murran area of the neighbouring Pulwama district, were killed in an encounter in Shukroo Keller area on Tuesday.

The official said the three terrorists were active in south Kashmir for a long time and were involved in several terror attacks.

“Kuttay, who was the Operations Commander of LeT in south Kashmir, promoted terrorist recruitment in Kashmir, also misled many young men and killed many innocent people. LeT and other terrorist groups have suffered a major loss due to this operation,” the person said.

The Indian Army in a statement said an operation was launched by the security forces on Tuesday on the basis of intelligence about their presence in the area.

“The operation resulted in the neutralisation of three hardcore terrorists including the local commander of LeT/TRF after an intense encounter,” the ADGPI said in a post on X.

Two AK series rifles, a large quantity of ammunition, grenades, and other war-like stores were found in their possession, he said.(PTI)