Day 9: Army-terrorists encounter still on in Poonch

Poonch: The gunbattle between terrorists and Army continues for ninth consecutive day on Thursday.

A fresh round of firing began at 0530 hrs IST on Monday morning and a loud explosion was also heard.

Four terrorists, two soldiers and one special police officer have been killed so far in the encounter, which began on December 31 in the Bhatidhar forests of Mendhar in Poonch.

It is estimated that there are approximately six to seven terrorists still holed up in the caves.

Security forces have cordoned off the area around the forest even as the search operations continue to be hindered due to the tough terrain and dense forest.

On Wednesday, Defence Ministry Spokesperson SN Acharya was quoted as saying by UNI that the terrorists seemed to be "belong to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) as per intercept received by Army".

Security forces have already recovered radio sets, some ammunition and GI sheets (used for covering the openings of hideouts) from the site of operation, the spokesman said, adding the operation will continue till the elimination of all the terrorists holed up forest.

Meanwhile, Army personnel were carrying out a "deliberate operation" to wear out the holed-up terrorists to avoid casualties in security forces, as their encounter in the dense forests raged on.

Army chief General Deepak Kapoor said, "We are carrying out to ensure maximum attrition on the terrorists to ensure that we do not suffer any casualties... the area is very rocky and filled with natural caves. That is why it (the operation) is taking time."

Brigadier General Staff at 16 Corps Gurdeep Singh had on Wednesday morning said in Mendhar that it is not possible to specify as of now how long the operation will last

Brigadier Singh said the undulating forest terrain in the region and the weather were acting as big constraints for the army in flushing them out.

"We are carrying out a deliberate operation to wear out the terrorists and to ensure that the casualties among our own forces are avoided. That's why we are taking time to eliminate the terrorists holed up here," Brigadier Singh added.