Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Dec 18: Security forces have launched a massive operation in North Kashmir’s Lolab forests against a group of militants after they killed a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant and busted a militant hideout since last evening.
A Srinagar based Defence spokesman, Lt Colonel Nitin Narhar Joshi, said here that a joint operation of Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police at Lolab which began yesterday evening continued throughout the day and will continue as likely hood of some more militants trapped cannot be ruled out.
“Search operations continued during the day and one AK rifle, six magazines, 140 AK rounds, two radio sets, one GPS and some administrative items were recovered during this search. The area remains cordoned”, the spokesman added.
Sources said that security forces today busted a militant hideout during the search operation of the Varnov forests in Lolab after last evening’s encounter in which one militant was killed. “The militant has been identified as Syed Bhai of JeM”, the sources added.
Sources said four blankets, three shoes, four sweaters, two jackets, three Pheran, medicine, honey, oil, food items and cooking utensils were recovered from the hideout.
Sources said that it was a group of seven JeM militants including deputy chief of JeM Hassan Bhai who were using the busted hideout. Security forces have, however, seen only three militants and they believe there are three more in the area.
Sources said that security forces fired heavily when they busted the militant hideout in the morning as they apprehended that militants are inside it. “When there was no response from inside, search of the hideout were conducted and no militant was found there”, sources added.
Meanwhile, the Army spokesman said that Army recovered a cache of arms during a search operation in North Kashmir Kupwara forests today. “Based on specific inputs operations were launched by an RR unit in the area of Safawali Gali, 10 kilometres North of Kupwara wherein cache was recovered to include 614 AK ammunition, 11 grenades and two bombs of mortar”, he added.
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