Nearly 35 days after Operation Trashi-I was launched in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, three terrorists of Pakistan-based outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) were killed in an encounter with security forces here on Sunday.The terrorists’ bodies were charred beyond recognition after the mud house where they were hiding caught fire during the exchange of fire, officials said. Preliminary assessments by security agencies suggest that one of the deceased could be Saifullah, a JeM commander. However, there was no official confirmation.Saifullah had reportedly infiltrated into J&K nearly five years ago and had remained active in the region since, allegedly masterminding several deadly attacks on security forces, including the one in July 2024 that left four soldiers dead. The encounter began around 11 am after intelligence agencies received information about the presence of terrorists in a vacant dhok (mud house) on a hill in the Passerkut area of Chhatru. Teams of the Army, Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K Police and the CRPF reached the spot and laid a cordon. As security forces closed in, the terrorists opened fire, triggering an encounter. Three AK-47 rifles and ammunition were recovered from the site. The shelter, reportedly used by nomadic tribes during seasonal migration, was gutted in the heavy firing. Initially, two charred bodies were recovered from the site, while the third was retrieved later.The Nagrota-based White Knight Corps in a statement said acting on intelligence inputs collated from the J&K Police, Intelligence Bureau and its own sources, a joint operation was launched in the Kishtwar region under Operation Trashi-I to track and neutralise terrorists operating in the area. Troops of Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) Delta, White Knight Corps, in coordination with J&K Police and CRPF, re-engaged the terrorists on Sunday and successfully neutralised three militants, the statement said.Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command, commended the White Knight Corps for their swift and precise action in Kishtwar.Operation Trashi-I was launched on January 18 in the Son Nar area of Chhatru following initial inputs about the presence of three terrorists. One soldier was killed on the first day of the operation. On February 4, a terrorist from the group was neutralised. With Sunday’s operation, a total of four terrorists linked to the group have been eliminated.Six gunfights with the group have taken place over the past 35 days in the Chhatru region. Following the initial setback, security forces intensified operations with caution. A hideout and kitchen used by the terrorists were also busted earlier, where large quantities of rations were recovered.