Encounter between security forces and terrorists continues in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir.
New Delhi:
Anantnag encounter is not ending. The encounter with security forces that started late Tuesday night is continuing. It is clear that the terrorists have come with full preparation. They have no shortage of ammunition and food items.
According to information received by NDTV India from security forces, on Tuesday, the Army and Police received input from the informer that terrorists are hiding in Gadul in Kokernag area. When the area was searched, nothing was found. Just received information that terrorists are on top of the hill. The army and police team decided to attack the terrorists.
Quick response could not be taken on difficult path
The path to climb up the hill is quite narrow and full of challenges. On one side there are mountains and dense forests and on the other side there is a deep ditch. On top of that there was darkness of night. Next was Colonel Manpreet Singh, Commanding Officer of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, then Major Ashish and then DSP of Police Humayun Bhatt. In the hide out above, the terrorists could see the security forces coming up from below. As soon as the terrorists came near their cave, they started heavy firing. The army and police did not get a chance to recover. The route was also such that even if one wanted to, one could not take forceful retaliatory action under the cover of anything. There was also a danger of falling down.
When an army colonel, a major and a police DSP were shot, they could not be immediately taken to the hospital. There was heavy firing at that place. Neither the helicopter could be landed nor the injured officers could get immediate medical help. With great difficulty the bodies of all three could be taken out in the morning.
Explosives are being dropped through Heron
Since then, security forces have surrounded the hill where the terrorists were hiding from all sides. Explosives are being dropped at that place through Heron purchased from Israel. Rocket launchers are being fired. Special Forces soldiers are also continuously attacking. The problem is that the army has not yet been able to dominate the area. The geographical structure of that place is such that there is a lot of difficulty in carrying out the operation.
There are trained terrorists with modern weapons
According to the information, the number of terrorists in these hilly areas is more than two-three. These include Uzair Khan, who joined Lashkar Toiba last year. He has complete information about the area and the terrorists are benefiting from it. According to security experts, ordinary terrorists cannot stand before the security forces for so long. Their training is of top class and their weapons are also unmatched. It is also possible that the informer may have double crossed or someone may have leaked the movements of the security forces. Ending this operation has become a big challenge for the security forces.