Anantnag anti-terror operation enters sixth day

According to officials, drone footage showed a charred body lying near one of the hideouts destroyed during the anti-terror operation over the past five days

The operation to flush out terrorists holed up in the Gadole forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district entered the sixth day on September 18 with security forces using drones to pinpoint the hideouts for carrying out attacks on the militants.

The Union Territory's Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has vowed to avenge the death of the three officers in the encounter.

According to officials, drone footage showed a charred body lying near one of the hideouts destroyed during the anti-terror operation over the past five days. Any further information about it can be made available only after security forces sanitise the area, they said.

Security forces are using drones and helicopters for surveillance of the dense forest area with several cave-like hideouts where terrorists are believed to be holed up since Wednesday after killing two Army officers and a deputy superintendent of police in the initial exchange of fire, the officials said.

The security cordon has been extended to the neighbouring Posh Kreeri area on Sunday as a precautionary measure to ensure that terrorists don't slip into civilian areas, they said.

Addressing a function in Srinagar late on Sunday evening, the Lieutenant Governor said every drop of the martyrs' blood will be avenged and the terrorist handlers will have to pay a heavy price. "We have complete faith in our soldiers... The entire nation stands in solidarity with the jawans," Mr. Sinha said.

He claimed that the attack on security forces in Anantnag was a result of the frustration among the terrorist ranks due to the successful conduct of the G-20 Summit and the crackdown on conflict profiteers in Jammu and Kashmir.