Anantnag encounter: Anti-terror operations intensify as one more civilian succumbs

Srinagar: Security forces on Sunday intensified their operation to flush out terrorists from the forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on the second day of encounter that has left two soldiers and a civilian dead.

Officials said additional personnel have been rushed to the Ahlan Gagarmandu forest area to eliminate terrorists -- believed to be three to four in number.

"The operation is going in the upper reaches of Gagarmandu. An intensive search operation is going on... Further details will be shared after the operation is over," Inspector General of Police Kashmir Zone V K Birdi told reporters near the encounter site in Kokernag.

He said three soldiers were injured in the initial exchange of fire on Saturday while two civilians also sustained injuries.

"Two security personnel attained martyrdom while the third is undergoing treatment and his condition is said to be stable. Out of two civilians who were injured, one has succumbed," Birdi said.

Asked if the two civilians were involved in terrorist activities, Birdi said the presence of the two men close to the site of encounter with terrorists is a matter of investigation and it "is being investigated".

Asked if the group of terrorists involved in the ongoing encounter had come from Doda, the IGP said while the scene of gunbattle is close the border of district, it is premature to say anything with certainty.

Earlier in the day, officials said the death toll in the overnight anti-terrorist operation rose to three as one of the two civilians injured in the encounter succumbed.

The operation to hunt down the ultras continued despite the challenging topography -- the Ahlan Gagarmandu forest area of the Anantnag district is at an altitude of 10,000 feet.

The firefight started last evening during a cordon and search operation that was initiated by the security forces based on intelligence reports indicating the presence of terrorists in the remote belt.

According to the officials, a group of terrorists opened fire at the joint search parties comprising Army personnel, including para commandos, and local police.

In the ensuing gun battle, six Army personnel and two civilians were injured, officials said, adding the injured soldiers were promptly taken to a nearby hospital where two succumbed shortly after arrival.

The slain army personnel are Havildar Dipak Kumar Yadav and Lance Naik Praveen Sharma.

This encounter is a grim reminder of a similar operation in the general area of Kokernag last September, during which four security personnel, including Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish and Deputy SP Humayun Bhat were killed in the week-long engagement with terrorists.

Two terrorists, including a senior commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), were also neutralised during that operation.

Security forces have ramped up their efforts in the woods of Kokernag after an encounter in the Doda district on July 15 that resulted in the deaths of four soldiers, including a captain.

It is believed that the terrorists involved in the recent Anantnag incident may have crossed over from Kishtwar district after escaping the confrontation in Doda.

Giving details of the current operation, a Srinagar-based defence spokesperson said that on August 5, it was confirmed through human and electronic means that terrorists responsible for atrocities in the Doda region in July have sneaked across the Kishtwar range into the Kapran-Garol area in south Kashmir.

"The Rashtriya Rifles and the Jammu and Kashmir Police have relentlessly tracked these terrorists and precise operations were launched on the night of August 9 and 10 in the mountains in the east of Kapran where these terrorists were reportedly holed up," the spokesperson said.

Suspicious movement was observed around 2 pm on August 10, he said, adding and when security forces challenged them the terrorists responded by indiscriminate, desperate and reckless firing in which two Army personnel and two civilians in the vicinity were injured," He said the terror antecedents of the injured civilians are being ascertained.

"The area is at an altitude of above 10,000 feet, has thick undergrowth, large boulders, nallahs and re-entrants that pose a serious challenge to operations. Security forces are moving deliberately and are in the process of hunting down the terrorists," the spokesperson said.

The situation remains tense as security forces continue their pursuit of the terrorists in the area.