Anantnag encounter ends after 7 days, search operations to continue

The week-long joint anti-terror operation in the Garol forests in the Anantnag district has ended, additional DGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said on Tuesday but the search operation will continue. Kumar said that the body recovered on Monday has been identified as that of Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Uzair Khan. The body of another terrorist has been seen but is yet to be recovered, he added. "The search operation will continue as many areas are still left...We would appeal to the public to not go there...We had the information about 2-3 terrorists. It's possible that we find the third body somewhere that's why we will complete the search operation. We found the body of the LeT Commander and retrieved it, we could also spot another body...We're looking for the third body," J-K Police ADGP said.

A joint operation was conducted from 13-19 Sept by Indian Army and J&K Police in area Garol, Anantnag based on specific intelligence inputs regarding presence of terrorists. The first contact was established on 13 Sept resulting in a fire fight and a prolonged operation that…

— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2023

The senior officer said that the gunfight that started in Anantnag on Wednesday is over, but the security forces will continue the search operations in the area. "There is a huge area that remains to be searched. There can be a lot of unexploded shells which will be recovered and destroyed. We appeal to the people not to go to the area," he added.Vijay Kumar said that the security forces had information about 2 to 3 terrorists in the area. "There is a possibility that the third dead body may be somewhere. It will be known after the search is complete," Kumar said.In the encounter, 2 senior officers, 1 jawan of the Indian Army and 1 officer of Jammu and Kashmir Police were killed. As per the officials, the commander of Quick Response Team (QRT) of Rashtriya Rifles Colonel Manpreet Singh, company commander Major Ashish Dhonak, and DSP Humayun Bhat were killed in the action on Wednesday. The operation started on Wednesday when Colonel Manpreet Singh, commanding officer, 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Ashish Dhonchak and deputy superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir Police Humayun Bhat were killed by terrorists. The body of another soldier Pradeep, who had gone missing on the first day of the encounter, was recovered on Monday.