The search operation in Lolab and areas along the Line of Control in Kupwara district completed its third day on Monday.
The contact between militants and security forces occurred on Saturday afternoon in upper reaches of Warnow forests after a joint team of 28 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operation group was fired upon by hiding militants. There has been no fresh firing since then.
“The operation is underway and there has been no fresh exchange of fire,” Senior Superintendent of Police Kupwara, Ambarkar Shriram Dinkar told the Greater Kashmir. “More areas including some adjoining villages have been included in the search operation.”
According to senior army officers, searches are underway in Nagmar Gail, Bomes Gali as well. “The boundary lies with district Bandipora, so the areas from that side are being searched too,” a senior army officer told the Greater Kashmir.
Massive efforts, the army officer said, are being made to track down the group of three militants. “We do not want to allow them to enter the hinterland,” he added.
Search operation in the areas along the Line of Control is also underway. ” There have been some ceasefire violations and we are trying to find whether militants have sneaked in taking the advantage of shelling,” another army officer posted in north Kashmir said.
He said that in the recent past two militant hideouts were busted along the LoC in Baramulla district and a huge cache of arms and ammunition recovered after the army launched a search operation. “To our understanding, it seems, the modus operandi is to drop arms and ammunition in caches near the LoC so that the overground workers or militants pick the same for carrying out their activities in the hinterland,” the officer said adding that is why coming operations are being carried out.
The surveillance grid, he said, has been beefed up all across LoC and along the infiltration routes.