Army Chief visits forward posts as counter-terror ops continue

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9th day of op

The operation to flush out terrorists from forests near LoC entered ninth day on Tuesday

The ultras are said to be hiding in the forests of Mendhar, Surankote and Thanamandi

Nine soldiers have been martyred in the operation

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 19

Army Chief General MM Naravane visited forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region on Tuesday amidst ongoing counter-insurgency operations for over a week in the forests spanning Poonch and Rajouri districts, where nine soldiers have laid down their lives.

The Army Chief was briefed about the ground situation and the counter-infiltration operations, said officials.

Gen Naravane arrived in Jammu on a two-day visit on Monday and visited the forward areas of White Knight Corps. He undertook a first-hand assessment of the situation along the LoC.

Besides the intensive counter-insurgency operations, 11 civilians have been killed in targeted attacks by terrorists in different parts of Kashmir this month. The killed include five migrant labourers, two teachers belonging to minority communities and a long-settled pharmacist.

The officials said the Army Chief visited the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch where a massive operation to track down terrorists hiding in the forests of Mendhar, Surankote and Thanamandi has been going on since October 11.

While five Army personnel were killed in an attack by terrorists in the forests of Surankote on October 11, another four soldiers died in a gunfight in Mendhar last Thursday.

The operation to neutralise the terrorists entered its ninth day on Tuesday. The police have detained eight persons for questioning in connection with providing logistic support to the terrorists.

On Sunday, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had vowed to avenge “every drop of blood shed by hunting down” the terrorists and their sympathisers.