Kashmir Encounter Enters Day 4: Explosions heard as search for terrorists continues

The encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district has entered its fourth day with terrorists holed up in a cave on the top of a hill. The security personnel are caught between forests and a hill on one side and a deep ditch on the other, sources have said.

Loud explosions were heard and drones were pressed into service to pinpoint the location of terrorists as the ongoing encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag entered Day 4 on Saturday.

According to the details, the forces were looking out for more terrorists in the area, as the Valley’s police chief assured that the terrorists would be neutralised.

On Friday, Additional Director General of Police (Kashmir), Vijay Kumar, told news agency PTI the operation was launched based on specific input.

He also advised retired police and Army officers to avoid peddling ambush hypothesis in the media.

Major Ashish Dhonchak, 19 Rashtriya Rifles Commanding Officer Col Manpreet Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir Police Humayun Bhat and a soldier were killed in an encounter with the terrorists at Gadole in the Kokernag area of the south Kashmir district on Wednesday.

A day later, on Thursday, anti-Pakistan protests were held in various parts of Jammu city against the killing of four security personnel by terrorists.

The Panun Kashmir and the Eik Sanatam Bharat Dal (ESBD) paid homage to the personnel and demanded a massive operation against the terrorist ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir.

The gunfight began during a joint operation of the Army and the police Tuesday night to hunt down the terrorists hiding in the Gadul forest of Kokernag. A soldier went missing and three officers killed in action when they tried to approach the Lashkar terrorists’ hideout atop a hill.

Meanwhile, another encounter is underway in Baramulla district where two terrorists have been killed so far.