Massive mopping-up operation on in J&K

The Army has launched a massive mopping up operation in vast areas in Uri and Nowgam sectors of Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla and Kupwara districts, respectively, where earlier, two major infiltration bids from across the Line of Control (LoC) were foiled by the troops on Tuesday.

Initial reports had said that eight to 10 militants were killed during the ensuing encou-nter in Uri’s Lachipura area. But the Army quickly distanced itself from these reports and refused to confirm the casualty figure. “Since the operations are still underway, it is not possible to say how many terrorists have been killed,” defence spokespe-rson Col. Rajesh Kalia told this newspaper on Wednesday even-ing. The Army, however, confirmed that one soldier laid down his life while fighting militants in Nowgam sector wh-ere earlier on Monday night a police post had come under an attack from gunmen believed to be part of a larger group of militants whi-ch had just sneaked into Jammu and Kashmir from PoK.

Col. Kalia and also the Udhampur-based defence spokesman S.D. Goswami, however, confirmed that two major infiltration bids were foiled by “alert jawans” in these sectors and that the fire fights took place between the two sides. The clashes come barely two days after 18 Ar-my jawans were killed and over 20 wounded in a militant ambush at an administrative section of the Army’s 12 Infantry Brigade headquarters in Uri, 102 km northwest of here. All the four attackers were also killed in Army’s retaliatory action.

The sources in the Army here added that following these bids troops including those from its Special Forces have searched areas ne-ar the LoC. The sources said that columns of Army, have spread in woods in the border belt to flush out militants who may be hiding there.

Sources said that the bodies of militants have been spotted nearly 300 metres short of the de facto border but no attempts were made to retrieve them because the Army wants to ensure first there are no militants hiding in the nearby woods. Also, any such attempt could bring the soldiers in the enemy’s line of fire.

A report from the border belt said that the Army has put up red flags at some of its forward posts along the LoC which has been taken by people living on the two sides of the divide line as an “alarming sign” and many of them have started shifting to safer locations away from what they think could be “death-defying” locations in the event of active hostilities breaking out between the facing armies.

Meanwhile, the Army on Wednesday said that it along with J&K police and CRPF busted a militant hideout in Tral area of southern Pulwama district after “unearthing a large cache of warlike stores”. A statement issued by it here said that based on intelligence reports, the Army and others launched a joint operation in the Kamla forest near Tral which led to the hideout from where the security forces recovered one AK-56 rifle, sniper rifle, machine gun and UBGL each besides a large quantity of ammunition. “The recovery of warlike stores and destruction of the hideout close to the sensitive area of Tral has delivered a blow to the nefarious designs of terrorists attempting to reorganise themselves after the elimination of key terrorists”, the statement added.