At the height of the Gaza invasion in April 2024, seven Pakistani militants, reportedly calling themselves the "Israel Group", infiltrated into the Jammu region, engaging security personnel in at least 17 gunfights and carrying out a series of attacks on civilians and forces.

Much like the prolonged Israeli onslaught on Palestinians, it took the security forces 326 days of relentless operations to finally neutralise them, culminating on Sunday with the killing of the group’s head, Saifullah, and two more militants, during the final assault.

The breakthrough was achieved after enduring setbacks and embarrassments as the militants managed to break cordons. But the unyielding resolve and sustained efforts of hundreds of personnel, working day and night in treacherous terrain and deploying every possible resource from sniffer dogs to surveillance drones, ultimately helped them track down the militants.

A police veteran said the militants were unlikely to have used the Israel moniker out of admiration for the Jewish country but rather to instil fear, invoking the image of Israel’s uncompromising military campaign.

The army on Monday confirmed the death of Saifullah and two other militants of the Jaish module that had infiltrated in April 2024. “Relentless and painstaking high-altitude joint operations were conducted over 326 days in the Kishtwar region. Forces tracked terrorists in challenging conditions of cold, wet and freezing weather across daunting terrain, leading to multiple contacts,” the Jammu-based White Knight Corps said on X.

“Technology in the form of FPV drones, satellite imagery, RPAs/UAVs, communication, etc, was continuously leveraged to assist in operations. The relentless pursuit and resolve of our forces, culminating in the elimination of Saifullah and his associates, proves that nothing can stand against the determination, courage and valour of our men in uniform and Intelligence agencies.”

Jammu zone inspector-general of police Bhim Sen Tuti said the “very hardcore terrorists” who called themselves the “Israel Group” had inflicted “heavy losses on security forces and civilians” over the past two years.

Sources said the militants' victims included the army’s junior commissioned officer, Rakesh Kumar, Havaldar Gajendra Singh and village defence guards Kuldeep Kumar and Nazir Ahmad.

“These Jaish terrorists would call themselves members of the Israel Group. I have said this on the basis of evidence. It had seven members,” Tuti told reporters.

The first member of the group was killed in April 2025, followed by two more in different gunfights in subsequent months. Of the remaining four, one was killed early this month. Tuti said the last three members, including Saifullah, were killed at Chatroo in Kishtwar.