Security forces gunned down eight terrorists on Thursday in three separate encounters —two in north Kashmir and one in Jammu region. Twelve security officials, including five jawans of the CRPF, four State policemen, and three Army soldiers, received injuries during the operation.
Five terrorists, including three infiltrators, were killed in two separate encounters in north Kashmir’s Keran sector of Kupwara and Sopore, official sources said. An overground worker of a pan-Islamic outfit was arrested in Ganderbal district.
Officials said three unidentified infiltrators were killed in a fierce gunfight after the Army foiled a major infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Keran sector of Kupwara in north Kashmir on Thursday.
In another incident, two Pakistan’s Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorists were killed in an operation at Checkipora, Sheikhpora village in Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
In Kakriyal area along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, a three member fidayeen squad, believed to be cadre of Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Jaish-e- Mohammad, was eliminated by the joint team of security forces led by para-commandos of the Indian Army, jawans of the special operations group of State police and the CRPF on Thursday.
The 33-hour operation ended in the killing of one of the three surviving terrorists who opened fire on security forces when he came face to face with them during the combing and search operations in thickly vegetated fields of Kakriyal.
Till the time of filing the report, several teams of bomb disposal squad and others were deployed at the encounter site to completely sanitise the area and clear the same from “booby traps” in the form of planted IED’s or land mines. The local residents, who remained closeted inside their homes since early morning, also heaved a sigh of relief after the operation was called off.
The security forces ensured no major collateral damage to the civilian houses and managed to contain terrorists in isolated areas. The educational institutions remained closed in the area to prevent any untoward incident. The traffic on the national highway also remained suspended while operation was on in the area.
General Officer Commanding Uniform Force Major General Arvind Bhatia while confirming the elimination of all three terrorists in Kakriyal area told reporters, “These terrorists possibly infiltrated from the Samba sector and were heading towards Kashmir Valley to carry out some major strike with the help of their handlers and vast network of overground workers”.
He said since it was difficult for these terrorists to sustain them across Jammu region in the absence of overground workers network, they were possibly heading towards Kashmir Valley.