On Friday, January 23, 2026, a main Jaish-e-Mohammad commander was killed in a clash in Kathua district, Jammu and Kashmir; this was a really important step forward for counter-terror teams. Police stated the foreign fighter – who had been working in the Udhampur-Kathua area – was taken care of in a quick operation in Billawar.
Bhim Sen Tuti, Inspector General of Police for the Jammu area, said the J&K Police, the Army, and the CRPF all worked together on the operation. In a short note on X, he said a small JKP team started the fight in the Billawar area in general, and it led to the terrorist’s death.
What happened in the Billawar clash
Officials said the operation came after some good intelligence showed a fighter was in the Parhetar area. They went around the area, made contact, and then did a precise attack. The Army’s Rising Star Corps posted on X that one foreign fighter had been done away with, and that search work was still going on.
The person who died was JeM commander Usman, who was also known as Abu Maviya. Security people found a large amount of weapons and ammo at the place, like an M4 automatic rifle. The clash happened in a far-off village in Parhetar, and teams kept searching the area once it was safe.
Who was Usman, also called Abu Maviya?
Officials say Usman was one of the most-wanted JeM fighters working in the Udhampur-Kathua area. He came over the border and had been working for a couple of years. His being there was tied to a number of tried attacks and often moving through forest areas.
He had got away from several clashes before, including two recent ones on January 7 and January 13 in the Kahog and Najote forests. Security people had been tightening things up in the area, using a lot of intelligence and keeping a strong hold on the area.
How the Friday clash went
A team looking for people raided a house in the Parhetar area on Friday afternoon. The fighter started shooting from where he was hiding, so the team quickly answered. The fight turned into a close-up battle, and lasted just a few minutes before the fighter was shot and killed.
Officials said killing him was a big step forward, and would likely lessen JeM’s power in the Kathua-Udhampur area. Getting rid of an experienced field commander is expected to break up local help networks and slow the group’s work in the short term.
Weapons found, and forensic work to follow
Finding an M4 rifle and a lot of ammo shows there are ways to get supplies across the border, and maybe stores of weapons before. Looking at the weapon and any communication tools carefully is expected to help find who is linked to it. People who investigate usually use this proof to find people who handle things, couriers, and past movements around the area.
Work goes on in Kishtwar
At the same time, people were still looking for three JeM fighters in Kishtwar’s Chatroo area, like the Sonnar and Mandral-Singhpora forest areas. The drive, which has been going on for six days even with snow, has been named Operation Trashi-I. The land, plants, and weather have made the chase hard.
The operation began on Sunday and led to a hard gunfight where one paratrooper died and seven soldiers were hurt, mostly from bits of grenade. After a pause, another clash broke out on Thursday, but the fighters got away using thick cover and hard land shapes.
A big hiding place was found on Monday, and gave materials of value to intelligence. These actions go with a wider move against terror started in December across Jammu’s forest areas, to get rid of almost three dozen fighters hiding, who were found through inputs from a lot of agencies.
Security stepped up for Republic Day
With Republic Day coming up, security people have made area control and checkpoint watching stronger. Officials said intelligence showed that people in Pakistan were trying to get more fighters across the border. Watching the ways people get in, and areas that are at risk, has been made stronger.
The Kathua clash shows a security grid in the Jammu area is getting tighter. Following up searches in Billawar and Parhetar, and keeping pressure on in Kishtwar, are expected to go on. People in charge asked people who live there to help with checks and not share claims that haven’t been checked, as work is still being done.
Friday’s clash in J&K’s Kathua is a good success against Jaish-e-Mohammad. It took care of a high-value person, stopped a live threat, and gave more speed to work against terror that is still going on to keep the area safe in a time of high alert.
