Pahalgam terror attack mastermind Suleiman Shah, killed in Operation Mahadev, was a former commando of the Pakistan Army's elite unit - Special Service Group (SSG), media report said.

He later joined UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed's Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to carry out terror activities, NDTV reported quoting sources.

After three months and six days, the security forces hunted down the mastermind of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were shot dead in the Baisaran valley.

The security forces avenged the attack by killing Hashim Musa, alias Suleiman Shah, in an encounter near Srinagar along with two terrorists on Monday.

Indian security forces launched the anti-terror operation in the Lidwas area near Dara in Jammu and Kashmir amid reports of suspected terrorist movement in the region.

Sharing details about Operation Mahadev, Chinar Corps wrote on X: "Three terrorist have been neutralised in an intense firefight. Operation Continues."

Suleiman Shah was the mastermind behind the April 22 attack on Pahalgam area in Jammu and Kashmir, an incident that shocked the nation and drew condemnation from across the globe.

Security sources have confirmed to NDTV that he was gunned down in an encounter near Srinagar this morning.

The Indian newspaper's report identified the other two slain terrorists as Abu Hamza and Yasir.

The terror carnage in a popular tourist destination, Baisaran Valley is one of the deadliest recorded in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019.

The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack occurred when tourists were enjoying their visit to the area, which is often described as India's 'mini Switzerland'.