Three officers, two from the Army and one from the Jammu and Kashmir police, were killed during an anti-militancy operation in Anantnag district on Wednesday. Security forces killed one more militant during the operation launched on Tuesday in Rajouri, taking the toll to two.
A joint team of security forces, comprising the Army and police personnel, came under a heavy fire from militants who had positioned themselves at vantage points and took cover behind a thick foliage at the Gadool hamlet of Anantnag’s Kokernag area in the afternoon.
Official sources said the three officers, identified as Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Aashish Dhonchak and Deputy Superintendent of Police Humayan Bhat, were hit by bullets in the first volley of indiscriminate fire opened by the militants, whose number is believed to be two to three.
Sources said the security forces failed to evacuate the injured personnel immediately from the spot, apparently being in the firing range of militants. The security forces could not confirm any casualties to the hiding militants till Wednesday evening.
Well-planned ambush
Official sources said there were indicators that the militants had laid a well-planned ambush as the security forces were throwing a cordon around the area “following a tip-off” about their presence.
Militants in August, in a similar fashion, ambushed forces in tough terrain and thick forest area of Kulgam and killed three Army jawans. The attackers, who managed to shoot the attack on body cameras, could not be traced or identified.
Meanwhile, the security forces killed the second hiding militant in Rajouri, where an encounter started on Tuesday.
“Our troops cordoned the terrorists and heavy firefight ensued on September 12, wherein one terrorist was killed. Despite bad weather and hostile terrain, the second terrorist was pursued and neutralised on the morning of September 13 after heavy firing throughout the night,” a Jammu-based Army spokesman said.
He said a large quantity of warlike stores had been recovered, including Pakistan marking medicines.
One soldier was killed and three others, including a policeman, were injured in the encounter.
The Army identified the deceased soldier as rifleman Ravi. “His unwavering dedication and service to our nation will always be remembered,” an Army spokesman said.
With growing militancy in the Pir Panjal valley in the Jammu division this year, the Army has raised an alarm and warned of new tactics adopted by the militants.
“The Army has killed foreign terrorists along the Line of Control in Poonch and Rajouri and foiled the infiltration bids. But they [terrorists] are now coming by road from Nepal and Punjab to foment trouble and to disrupt the prevailing peaceful atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir,” Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, Northern Army Commander, said in Jammu.
He said Pakistan was trying to send infiltrators to disrupt the tourism boom, as 1.88 crore tourists arrived in Jammu and Kashmir so far this year.
