Civilian succumbs to injuries, death toll 3

Srinagar, Aug 11: The death toll in the overnight encounter in the Kokernag area of Anantnag district of south Kashmir has risen to three as one of the two civilians injured during the encounter succumbed to his injuries on Sunday, officials said.

They said that the civilian, Abdul Rashid Dar, had sustained critical injuries in the firing by terrorists on Saturday and succumbed at a hospital in Srinagar early Sunday morning.

The intense gunfight erupted on Saturday evening in the remote Ahlan Gagarmandu forest area, situated at an altitude of 10,000 feet within the Kokernag belt of Anantnag.

The Army on Saturday said that based on credible intelligence reports about the presence of terrorists, a joint Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) was launched by the Army, including elite para commandos, and the J&K Police.

“As the security forces advanced into the dense forest, they encountered a group of heavily armed terrorists, who opened indiscriminate fire, leading to a fierce gunfight,” the Army said.

In the ensuing exchange, six Army personnel and two civilians were injured.

Despite receiving immediate medical attention, two of the injured soldiers, identified as Havildar Dipak Kumar Yadav and Lance Naik Praveen Sharma, succumbed to their injuries shortly after arriving at a nearby hospital.

The operation continued through the night as reinforcements were deployed to the area to hunt down the terrorists.

The challenging terrain, characterised by thick undergrowth, large boulders, and deep nallahs, has complicated the efforts to kill the fleeing terrorists, Police said.

Security forces have been moving cautiously through the rugged landscape to prevent further casualties, security officials said.

The latest encounter is reminiscent of a deadly encounter in the same area of Kokernag in September last year, when four security personnel, including Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish Dhonchak, and Deputy SP Humayun Bhat, were killed in a prolonged engagement with terrorists.

Two terrorists, including a senior commander of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), were also killed in the encounter.

A Srinagar-based Defence spokesman said that on August 5, human and electronic intelligence confirmed that the terrorists responsible for the atrocities in the Doda district in July had infiltrated into the Kapran-Garol area of south Kashmir.

Following relentless tracking by the Rashtriya Rifles and the J&K Police, a precise operation was launched on Friday night in the mountainous terrain east of Kapran, he said.

The spokesman said that suspicious movement was detected around 2 pm on Saturday.

“The security forces' challenge was met with indiscriminate and reckless firing from the terrorists, resulting in injuries to two Army personnel and two civilians in the vicinity. The authorities are currently investigating the terror connections of the injured civilians,” he said.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, V K Birdi said that security forces had information regarding the movement of terrorists in the upper reaches.

“A search operation was being conducted in the Gagarmandu area. Security forces spotted the movement of terrorists and there was an exchange of fire between the security forces and terrorists,” he said. “The operation is underway in the upper reaches. Two Army soldiers lost their lives in the encounter and a soldier who was admitted to the hospital is currently stable.”

The IGP Kashmir said that it was a matter of investigation that some more people got injured in the exchange of fire and a local succumbed to the injuries.

“The other civilian who was admitted to the hospital is currently stable,” he said. “A group of three to four terrorists is believed to be present in the Kokernag forest area, and the Police are investigating the role of civilians found in close proximity to the terrorists.”