Anantnag; The military operation at Gadool forest in kokernag hamlet of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district Southern has entered into the third straight day with forces using grenades and RPGs in a bid to track down the militants.
The army already stated that it used the latest machinery including choppers, drones, and quad copters in the operation.
An official said that the intermittent firing remained on throughout the day as the operation was put on a halt given darkness this evening.
He said that the forces fired grenades, rocket propelled grenades, shells and bullets towards the suspected spots suggested by the drones.
The official said that civilians living close to the area have been already evacuated to safer places and drones including herons have been pressed into action to find and neutralize the hiding terrorists.
“There is no confirmation whether any terrorist has been killed so far given the tough terrain and forest area,” the official said.
“Given dark, high beam lights have been installed and all the layers of cordon have been tightened to ensure terrorists don’t flee.”
Pertinently on Wednesday, during the initial exchange three top officers including Colonel Manpreet Singh, who was the commanding officer of 19 RR, Major Aashish Dhonchak and DySP Humayun Bhat, the son of former DIG Kashmir Ghulam Muhammad Bhat were killed.
On Thursday, two more personnel were injured in the operation.
Notably, the Kokernag encounter is the biggest since August 5 this year in South Kashmir when three soldiers of army’s 34 RR were killed in Halan Manzgam forest area of Kulgam district.
On March 30, 2020, five security personnel-including a Colonel, a Major and a sub-inspector were killed in an 18-hour long encounter at north Kashmir’s Handwara.
(KNO)