Almost two dozen villages in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir have been cordoned off, as the Indian Army along with other security forces have launched a massive anti-terror operation on Thursday.

The search operations come in the wake of a surge in militancy related incidents in the past few days. Suspected terrorists barged into a police post guarding the court complex of southern Shopian late on Tuesday night, and decamped with five service rifles.

The terrorists decamped along with five service rifles including four INSAS rifles and an AK-47 rifle. Earlier, following the two bank robberies that took place in Pulwama on Wednesday, Pulwama Superintendant of Police Rayees Mohammed Bhat revealed that preliminary investigation has established the involvement of the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

"Until now, we have identified one militant each from Padgampora and Khagpura, which proves Lashkar's involvement in the incident," he said. "It is clear that militant organisations like these are short of cash. We have also seen that they now carry more advanced technological gadgets. We are continuing the investigation," he added.

The gunmen looted two banks, in separate incidents, in South Kashmir's Pulwama district, within few hours. Bank robberies and weapon snatching incidents have been on the rise in the Valley recently, triggering an alert.