J-K: Post Anantnag encounter, hunt on but no trace of Lashkar-e-Toiba militants yet

There has been no trace of the militants after the initial gunfight and it is being suspected that militants are making use of treacherous terrain and forest cover to prolong the security forces opera

Security personnel on the fifth day of the ongoing encounter with terrorists, at Gadol Kokarnag in Anantnag district, on Sept. 17, 2023. (PTI)

SRINAGAR: As the search operation in the Gadole forest area of Kokernag continued for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday, there was still no trace of the group of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, who are involved in the killing of four security personnel including three high ranking officials in the gunfight on Wednesday.

Drones and helicopters are being used for the surveillance of the dense forest area of Gadole in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district to track down and pinpoint the location of a group of two to three Lashkar militants, who are believed to be hiding.

The security forces are firing mortar shells, grenades and ammunition through drones at the possible hideouts in the natural caves in the forest area.

Smoke rises after blast at a militants' hideout on the fifth day of the ongoing encounter between security personnel and terrorists, at Gadol Kokarnag in Anantnag. (PTI)

One of the militant hideouts in the deep forest area was busted and demolished by mortar shelling by troops on Friday. A portion of the forest area had caught fire and the flames and huge smoke was visible.

The elite special forces are assisting the troops on the ground in the operation and maintaining tight vigil to prevent militants from slipping into civilian habitation.

More troops have been rushed to the adjoining areas to prevent militants from escaping from the forest area.

There has been no trace of the militants after the initial gunfight and it is being suspected that militants are making use of treacherous terrain and forest cover to prolong the security forces operation.

There is no confirmation whether any militant has been killed in the operation so far. ADGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar has asserted that militants trapped in the Gadole forest area will be neutralized.

A security official said all preventive measures are being taken to ensure the safety of soldiers during the operation. “We are not hastening the operation and are going at our own speed,” he said.

Security personnel check identities of civilians in a cordoned-off area on the fifth day of the ongoing encounter with terrorists, at Gadol Kokarnag in Anantnag. (PTI)

Meanwhile, a paramilitary CRPF jawan, who was part of Road Opening Party (ROP) duty in the adjoining area, was accidentally injured after being hit in the foot. The injured CRPF man was immediately evacuated and rushed to hospital.

On Wednesday morning (September 13), when an anti-militancy operation was launched in the forest area by a joint contingent of police and army, three security personnel — Colonel Manpreet Singh (19 Rashtriya Rifles), Major Ashish Dhonchak and Deputy Superintendent of Police Humayun Bhat — were killed in the gunfight with militants.

Another soldier succumbed to injuries on September 15 taking the death toll in the encounter to four.

The operation, which is being supervised by Srinagar-based Army’s 15 Corps, is turning out to be one of the longest anti-militancy operations in the Kashmir Valley.