The manhunt to track down the group of terrorists, possibly hiding inside natural cave structures in the Garol forest area in Jammu & Kashmir’s Anantnag district, entered its fifth day on Sunday even as intermittent firing continued and loud sounds of blasts pierced the relative calm at regular intervals.
The commandos deployed on ground zero have been targeting natural cave-like structures to flush out the hiding terrorists to avoid any collateral damage. The civilian population has been shifted to nearby safer areas to prevent any loss of innocent lives in the exchange of fire.
Unconfirmed reports claimed that the security forces had recovered a charred body from one of the hideouts blasted by the security forces but till late Sunday evening, the Army authorities had not issued any official statement confirming the same.
Colonel Manpreet Singh, Commanding Officer, 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Ashish Dhonchak, and Deputy Superintendent of Jammu & Kashmir Police Humayun Bhat were killed in action by the terrorists on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the security forces have been maintaining a tight cordon in the outer ring to prevent these terrorists from fleeing. The police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in huge numbers to keep a close watch on any suspicious movement in the Kokernag area. The Army has been using surveillance drones and other sophisticated modern tools to zero in on their location but continuous rains and thick vegetation are hampering the ongoing operations.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Army’s Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai visited the forward area along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir’s Baramulla to review the anti-infiltration and counter-terrorist grid on Sunday.
Three terrorists were gunned down in the area while they were attempting to infiltrate inside the Indian territory. The Corps Commander Lt Gen Ghai visited the forward area in Uri Sector to review the anti-infiltration and Counter Terrorism grid along the LoC, the Army said.
The Corps commander commended troops for maintaining the highest standards of combat readiness and operational preparedness. He also complimented the troops for the successful conduct of Operation Khanda in which three terrorists were eliminated on September 16.