Encounter enters day 5 in J-K, forces widen op area

Srinagar: The operation in Kokernag area of Anantnag in southern Kashmir entered its fifth day on Sunday with armed forces continuing to fire mortar and shells where militants are believed to be trapped. Security forces have also widened the area of operation to neighbouring villages and fired several mortar shells towards the forest, officials said

The security cordon has been extended to neighbouring Posh Kreeri area as a precautionary measure to ensure that militants don't slip into civilian habitation, the officials said.

Officials claimed that a charred body was found in the forests on Sunday afternoon, whose identity could not be ascertained. However, there is no official confirmation about the casualty on the militant side yet.


The officials also informed that a CRPF man was injured as he accidentally got hit during the operation. He was transported to a medical facility and his condition is stable.

The armed forces claim that drone footage from the mountains shows that the purported cave hideout of the militants caught fire on Saturday afternoon. Rainfall disrupted the operation for several hours.

The army, in its joint operation with the police and CRPF, have deployed hi-tech arms, AI-based robots, drones and special forces from the mountaineering wing.

The encounter that has been going on for over 100 hours now began on Wednesday in which two senior army officials and a J&K police officer were killed in the initial hours. They were identified as Colonel Manpreeet Singh, Commanding Officer of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Aashish Dhonchak from the same unit and DySP of J&K police Humayun Muzammil Bhat.

Police have informed that at least two militants, including a local recruit from Kokernag Uzair Khan, is involved in this encounter. Officials suspect that this group could be bigger with a few more members "who are well aware of the high-altitude jungle warfare".