SRINAGAR: Two para commandos of the Army have gone missing since Tuesday in the dense Gadool forest area of Anantnag district in Jammu and Kashmir during an anti-terror operation.
According to sources, acting on specific inputs about the presence of terrorists, the Army had launched a search operation in the Gadool forest area in Kokernag about three days to four days ago. The missing commandos were a part of the operation.
One source said the communication with the two commandos was lost on Tuesday. “Repeated attempts to contact them on their handsets and track their movement through GPS have proved unsuccessful,” the sources added.
The commandos may have separated from their team amid challenging terrain and poor visibility in view of inclement weather from the last few days.
With their disappearance, a massive search and rescue operation has been launched jointly by Army, police and paramilitary CRPF men in the forest area. Hundreds of security personnel are involved in the search operation and they are conducting thorough searches of every inch of the forest area, sources said. They are also being assisted by the sniffer dogs.
Additionally, the Army has also pressed helicopters and drones into service to trace the missing commandos. “It is a dense forest area with difficult terrain and connects south Kashmir with Kishtwar and Doda districts of Jammu region,” an officer said.
The Gadool forest area witnessed one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in September 2023, which resulted in the deaths ofColonel Manpreet Singh, Commanding Officer, 19 Rashtriya Rifles; Major Ashish Dhonchak; Deputy Superintendent of J&K Police Humayun Bhat; and army jawan Pradeep Kumar. In the week-long anti-terror operation, a top Lashkar commander was also killed.
After a drop in the terrorist violence in J&K, the terrorists have changed tactics and shifted to jungle warfare.