Anti-Terror Ops In J&K Forest Enter Day 13; Drones, Helicopters Called In

Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region have witnessed a rise in infiltration attempts since June this year.

Despite inclement weather, the counter-insurgency operation continued for the 13th day on Saturday in the forest belt of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts where nine army personnel were killed in two separate attacks by hiding terrorists last week, officials said.

Two more suspected people were detained for questioning as the joint search parties of army and local police moved cautiously in the dense forests of Mendhar and Surankote in Poonch and nearby Thanamandi in Rajouri to track down the hiding terrorists, they said.

An army official said a major part of the forest was cleared over the last 12 days and now the search area is restricted to an area housing a number of natural caves.

"There was no contact with the terrorists after the initial gunfights on October 11 and October 14. The search area was expanded in search of the terrorists," the official said, hoping to conclude the operation with the clearance of the natural caves within a day or two depending on the weather conditions.