First tip-off on Poonch militants came from labourer

‘No clarity on number of terrorists, say Defence source on 15th day of search

A day before five Army soldiers were killed by , security agencies had intercepted a phone chatter confirming their presence in the area.

The , is one of the longest such operation in the dense forests south of the Pir Panjal range, in more than a decade. The terrorists have so far killed nine Army soldiers and injured three others, in three separate encounters in the .

Detailing the sequence of events, a senior government official told The Hindu at least two gun toting men had walked into a labourer camp on October 10 and asked one of the workers for his phone. The labourer, whose phone was taken away, had then walked to the nearest Army post and alerted the officials. It was after this that the phone was placed under surveillance following which the entire area along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch-Rajouri with Pakistan was put on a high alert.