Srinagar: The gunfight continued for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday between security forces and militants in the forest area of Gadole in the Kokernag area of Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, heavy firing and bomb blast sounds are being heard from either side near the encounter spot located in the Peer Panchal mountains.
In order to avoid civilian casualties, all the schools in the area have already been closed and the people also moved to safer places. There is a lot of fear and panic in the area. In order to conclude the operation, senior officers of the forces are closely monitoring the situation.
It may be recalled that on Wednesday, the security forces received a tip-off about the hideout of militants in the Gadole area of Kokernag. Army's 19 Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police jointly launched a search operation in the forest area of Kokernag in Gadole, but militants hiding in the area ambushed the searching party, resulting in the death of Colonel Manpreet Singh, Commanding Officer, 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Ashish Donchak and Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Superintendent of Police Humayun Bhat were killed while on Friday, another security personnel succumbed to his injuries taking the number of persons killed in the encounter to four.
The security cordon has been extended to the neighbouring Posh Kreeri area as a precautionary measure to ensure that terrorists don't slip into civilian habitation, the officials said. The Northern Army commander on Saturday visited the site of the gunfight to take stock of the operational situation.
Lt Gen Dwivedi was briefed by the ground commanders on the high-intensity operations, in which hi-tech equipment is being used for surveillance and delivery of firepower, along with the high impact of precision fire being used by the forces. The Northern Army commander inspected the drone which has been used to survey the area and track the terrorists, the officials said. They said Lt Gen Dwivedi reviewed the operation with senior police and Army officers. He also interacted with troops deployed in the operation, they added.
