SRINAGAR: Security forces on Tuesday gunned down two militants holed up a forest area in the Akhnoor sector in Jammu, taking the number of terrorists killed in the two-hour encounter near the Line of Control (LoC) to three, officials said.
One of the three terrorists who fired at an ambulance that was part of an army convoy moving near the LoC on Monday morning was killed by evening in the operation in which the Army used unarmed vehicles, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and BMP-II combat vehicles.
“Two militants, who were holed up in the dense forest of Battal in Akhnoor since Monday, were killed in the gunfight by security forces on Tuesday morning. Another militant was killed by security forces during the search operation in the area on Monday,” Major General Sameer Srivastava, GoC of 10 Infantry Division, told reporters
The militants, who were well-armed and wearing combat dress, had fired at an army ambulance that was part of the army convoy in Asan area of Akhnoor. Army’s Quick Respect Team (QRT) prevented any loss of life and forced militants to flee into the jungle area, where they were trapped in the cordon.
“It seems that the heavily armed militants intended to carry out a big attack but the timely retaliation by security forces foiled their nefarious designs,” Major Gen Srivastava said. The army men, he said, were on high alert after intelligence inputs about possible militant attacks. Students had on Monday noticed three men wearing combat dresses moving suspiciously in the area and informed their teacher and Village Defence Group (VDG) members about it, who alerted the army about their presence. “The timely information by the locals helped the army to foil a big militant attack,” Major Gen Srivastava said.
He said the latest sophisticated technology was used during the anti-militancy operation. “We were getting regular aerial surveillance of the area with drones. We also used night surveillance devices, unmanned vehicles and AI to ensure real-time tracking and we achieved quick and successful result,” he said.
The army also used BMP vehicles for the first time during anti-militancy operations in J&K. “These hardened vehicles were used to close in on the trapped terrorists,” Maj Gen Srivastava said.
Besides the hi-end technological tools, the army also used NSG and elite para commandos to take on the militants, who continued to change their positions during the encounter, he said.