Kalakote villagers recount horror of past terror attacks

Rajouri, Nov 23: Inhabitants of different villages of Kalakote located in the vicinity of Baaji Maal encounter Thursday recounted the horror of gunfights and terror killings that occurred in the area between 2000 to 2010.
“A calm, prevailing for the last thirteen years, has been broken by the fresh encounter that broke out on Wednesday morning,” they say.
Five army personnel, including two Captain rank officers, lost their lives in the encounter while three others including an officer sustained injuries. Two terrorists, one of whom categorised as a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, were also killed in the firefight.
“This fresh encounter has created a widespread fear which has engulfed the entire area from Barevi to Kote Kabu and Keri, Jabbar,” villagers said.
The thirty-hour-long operation revived fear among the people of these areas who said that the firing of bullets and big explosions echoed in the hills, right from Keri Jabbar to Gulabgarh fort and Kote Kabu, making people recount past horrors.
“Since Wednesday morning, we have been stuck inside houses and we have not been able to go anywhere,” said Muhammad Din, a resident who added that people from the area risked their lives to feed their cattle.
He said that students were not able to attend schools on Wednesday and Thursday and most of the people preferred to stay inside their houses to remain safe.
“This encounter, after almost thirteen to fourteen years, has refreshed our memories of similar encounters, attacks that happened in the area before 2010,” said Suma Bibi, an aged woman from the area. She said that one of her younger brothers lost his life in a terror attack while her house and cattle shed were also set ablaze by the terrorists in which dozens of their domesticated animals, including horses, were charred alive.