ibn sultan
Jammu, Feb 22 : Security forces on Sunday killed a third militant in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, taking the total number of militants neutralised in the ongoing “Operation Trashi-I” to three, officials said.
The latest exchange of fire took place in the Chatroo area, where joint teams of the Army, police and the CRPF have been conducting search operations in dense forest belts for the past several days.
According to the Army’s White Knight Corps, troops of the Counter-Insurgency Force (Delta), acting on specific intelligence inputs, re-established contact with the hiding militants in difficult terrain around 11 am. In the ensuing gunfight, one militant was killed.
Officials said the body and a weapon were recovered from the site. The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants are being ascertained.
Earlier in the day, two militants were killed during the operation. Security forces had recovered two AK-47 rifles and other war-like stores from the encounter site.
The operation was launched following inputs shared by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Intelligence Bureau and the Army regarding the presence of militants in the forested stretches of Chatroo and adjoining areas.
Operation Trashi-I, initiated in January, is focused on flushing out militants from the mountainous pockets of Kishtwar district, including Chatroo, Sonnar, Dolgam and Dichhar. Multiple cordon-and-search operations have been conducted in these areas over the past few weeks.
Officials said search operations were continuing to ensure that no militants remain in the area. (KNS)
