Fresh fire fight between the joint team of security forces and at least two more militants holed up inside the mini-secretariat complex in Poonch resumed early Monday morning near Poonch brigade headquarters. The operation which started early sunday morning around 7.30 a.m continued through out the day.
The security forces claimed to have pinned down the militants using sophisticated imaging devices but failed to neutralise them till late Monday evening. The security forces were deliberately carrying out their operations to minimise collateral damage and own causalities.
According to the field reports soon after the security forces launched combing operations in the area after neutralising three militants on sunday evening they were fired upon from inside the mini-secretariat complex around 6.30 a.m on Monday.
The security forces immediately took positions and launched fresh assault to flush them out but faced hardships as the militants had taken shelter inside three storey building with big rooms.
Meanwhile, security forces on Monday recovered another dead body of a militant, dressed in combat uniform,from a residential building during the routine sanitisation operation.
Two more dead bodies could not be retrieved from the mini-secretariat complex till late evening due to ongoing operation. According to fresh assessment made by the supervising officers of various agencies involved in the task of neutralising the heavily armed militants their real target could have been Armys' brigade headquarters in Poonch but they failed to strike as their cover was blown by the senior citizens where one of the militant had taken shelter.
Brigade Commander AS Pandarkar in Poonch told reporters," fire fight resumed early Monday morning as sanitisation and combing operations were launched". He said so far four militants have been killed by the joint team of security forces while 1-2 militants were still holding up inside the mini-secretariat complex. He said on sunday their priority was to safely rescue civilians and clear the buildings and they managed to do that safely late in the evening.
DGP Police K Rajendra also visited Poonch on Monday to take stock of the ground situation. Rajendra told reporters, "the joint team of security forces are on the job to neutralise the heavily armed group of militants who targeted Poonch ahead of Eid to disturb peace and communal harmony".
He said the fire power used by the militants makes it clear that they had come fully prepared for the long haul.
According to eye witness reports the firing which remained on hold during the day time resumed afresh late in the evening. Security forces fired rocket launchers to blast the portion of the building where militants were possibly holding up since morning. In the absence of any confirmation the security forces decided to maintain the tight cordon around the encounter site. The entire area has been lit up using alternate power generators and bullet proof vehicles were employed to launch the final assault. The security forces are expected to carry out the sanitisation operation early Tuesday morning to confirm the fate of militants holed up inside the mini secretariat complex.