On the eleventh day of the Manigarh operation, security forces killed the first militant of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) deep inside the jungle.
The operation was launched on November 13, after security forces received a tip-off about the presence of militants in the area. The Army and the police launched a cordon-and-search operation to hunt down the militants. The Army later in rushed in special forces and choppers.
“One militant has been killed so far. We suspect three more are in the area. We have had four contacts (exchange of firing) so far, one of which killed Colonel Mahadik and five others. A Lieutenant Colonel was injured”, Ajaz Ahmad, senior superintendent of police, Kupwara, told dna.
Security forces also killed three terrorists of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen at Aishmuqam in Anantnag district
Colonel NN Joshi, defence spokesman at Srinagar, said that acting on a tip-off, the Rashtriya Rifles and the police launched a swift operation to flush them out.
“As the Army and the police approached the suspects’ house, the terrorists fired indiscriminately. Exercising strict restraint to avoid any collateral damage to civilians, the Army engaged the three terrorists in a brief gun battle and eliminated them,” he said.
The slain militants were identified as Sartaj Ahmad Lone, Adil Ahmad Sheikh and Tanveer Ahamd Bhat.
“Adil Sheikh was involved in the killing of a policeman, Arif Nazir Khan, in June 16 this year. Tanveer was involved in the killing of a civilian, Javid Ahamd Sofi. Three AK-47 rifles, six magazines, one Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL), three UBGL grenades and one pistol with magazine were recovered,” a police spokesman said
In a separate incident, a soldier was killed when his patrol came under heavy firing near the Line of Control in Naoshera sector.
“Our troops retaliated. In the ensuing fight, one soldier was injured and attained martyrdom while being taken to the military hospital. Search operations were still on,” said Lt Colonel Manish Mehta, defence spokesman at Jammu.
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source: DNA
