Anantnag encounter: Top police source says two dead bodies spotted near operation site

On the fourth consecutive day of the operation in the Gadole forests of the Kokernag area in Anantnag District, a top police source confirmed to WION that two dead bodies have been seen via drone footage by the security forces near the operation site. According to the J&K Police source, one body is of the killed terrorist and another body is of the Indian army soldier who was killed yesterday as his body has not been retrieved as of now due to the heavy firing from the terrorist side.

The source also said that two terrorists are still alive and are firing on the security forces in the area. The operation most likely will continue on Sunday as well. However, the Indian army has yet to confirm the news and is yet toissue any press release.

The security forces resumed the operation on Saturday morning after a night halt. It’s the fourth day of the encounter and it has been over 80 hours since the operation started. With the first light, the joint operation by the Indian army, Jammu and Kashmir’s Police and CRPF was resumed.

Drones have been pushed in to destroy the hideouts of the terrorists in the area. Jammu and Kashmir police had earlier said that the terrorists had been spotted and cornered. At least two to three terrorists, including Uzair Khan of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, have been surrounded in the cordon. The Indian army had said that the Army and police are using modern equipment like drones and other high-tech gadgets to conduct the operation.

Security forces also destroyed around six natural caves which probably were used by terrorists as hideouts in the jungle area. Two terrorist hideouts were blasted and recoveries were made from those hideouts. Security forces recovered one AK 47 rifle, ammunition, food and utensils from these hideouts.

Earlier, Two Indian Army officers and a DSP of Jammu and Kashmir Police were killed in an ongoing encounter at the Gadole area of Kokernag in South Kashmir's Anantnag district. The killed army colonel was identified as Manpreet Singh who was the Commanding officer of the army's 19 Rashtriya Rifles, while the army major was identified as Aashish Dhonchak. The DSP of Jammu and Kashmir Police was identified as Humayun Bhat, son of a retired senior police officer.

In another operation in North Kashmir's Uri sector of Baramulla district, three terrorists were killed while trying to infiltrate the Indian territory. The operation between terrorists and security forces started early morning in the Hathlanga area of Uri in north Kashmir's Baramulla district. The security forces had a tip-off about the presence of terrorists in the area trying to infiltrate.

“Op Khanda, Uri A Joint operation was launched this morning in the Uri Sector. Contact was established & firefight ensued. 03xTerrorists eliminated. 02xAK Rifles, 01xPistol, 07xHand Grenades, 01xIED and other war-like stores along with Pak Currency Notes recovered. Joint operation over," said the Indian Army.

While the Baramulla operation was called off, the operation at Kokernag in Anantnag still continues.

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