Pak Commandos' Hand Suspected In Deadly J&K Encounter, Say Sources

The group of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch have been able to evade thousands of security forces for eight days while nine soldiers have died in the encounter.

The ferocity of the fighting between security forces and the group of terrorists holed up in the jungles of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district for at least eight days suggests the infiltrators were trained by Pakistani commandos, sources in the army and police have said.

Nine soldiers including two Junior Commissioned Officers or JCOs have been killed in the line of duty, fighting these terrorists since Monday, in what has become the deadliest encounter for India's military in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years.

It is also unclear if any of the terrorists have been killed since no bodies have been found yet. The fighting in the 8-9 km stretch of thick forest has continued despite a massive combing operation, a tight cordon and intense shelling.

In the first brush with these terrorists, five soldiers, including a JCO, were killed on the night of October 10 in the Dera Wali Gali area of Poonch, which is close to the Line of Control.