HM Desk
Well-trained terrorists, the challenging terrain, dense forests and now inclement weather have all played a role in the encounter in Anantnag stretching into the fourth day on Saturday.
Three officers, Colonel Manpreet Singh and Major Aashish Dhonchak of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles and Deputy Superintendent Himayun Bhat of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, have been killed in action, a soldier is missing and at least two more personnel have been injured.
The terrorists are hiding in a cave atop a hill in the Gadul forests of Kokernag, which affords them protection as well as complete visibility of the actions of the joint Army and police team that has surrounded them. The narrow path leading to the cave, which offers no cover and has a sheer drop on one side, is what had cost the three personnel their lives as the team began their first offensive in the early hours of Wednesday.
Drones, rocket launchers and mortar shells have all been used, but the forces have not been able to achieve domination of the area yet. Officials say they are confident of neutralising the terrorists at the earliest.
What has the establishment worried, however, is that this is one of three encounters in Jammu and Kashmir in five days and comes amid an uptick in terrorist activity in the Pir Panjal region, which covers the Poonch and Rajouri districts
The forces first got intelligence about terrorists hiding in the Gadul forests on Tuesday night and, on learning that they were atop a hill, a decision to attack was taken in the early hours of Wednesday.
The path the forces have to take to get to the top of the hill is quite challenging. It is very narrow and there are mountains and a dense forest on one side and a deep ditch on the other. The personnel began the ascent in the night, and the darkness made it worse.
Seeing the forces ascend, the terrorists began firing at the personnel, who found themselves cornered. This is when the three officers were injured, but the limited options for extraction meant that they could not be taken to hospital until morning.
Bursts of heavy rain since Saturday morning have made the operation more difficult both by reducing visibility and by making it harder for drones to operate. A fire also broke out near the cave where the terrorists are hiding.
Two terrorists were gunned down in a two-day encounter in Rajouri district’s Narla area, which began on Tuesday, and three were killed in the Uri sector of Baramulla when they were attempting to cross into India from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The Army said Pakistani forces gave covering fire to help the terrorists cross the Line of Control and the gunfire from the other side also “interfered” with their efforts to retrieve the body of the third terrorist.
