SRINAGAR:According to officials, the operation to find terrorists hiding in the Gadole forest region of Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district started its fifth day on Sunday as security forces expanded their operational area to include nearby villages and fired a number of mortar shells at the forest. In order to keep an eye on the dense forest region where terrorists are thought to have taken refuge since Wednesday after killing two Army officers and a deputy superintendent of police in the initial exchange of fire, security forces are utilising drones and helicopters, according to the officials. The security forces reportedly fired three mortar shells towards the woodland as the assault resumed on Sunday morning. They claimed there were many cavernous hiding places in the surrounding woodland, and drones were being employed to locate them in order to launch strikes against them. On Friday, security troops shelled one of these hideouts, and drone footage captured a terrorist scurrying for safety. In order to prevent terrorists from infiltrating civilian areas, the security perimeter has been extended to the nearby Posh Kreeri region, according to the officials. On Saturday, the Northern Army commander went to the scene of the gunfight to assess the operational situation. The ground commanders briefed Lt Gen Dwivedi on the high-intensity operations, in which cutting-edge technology is being deployed for surveillance and firepower delivery, as well as the high impact of precision fire by the forces. The drone that was used to survey the region and track the terrorists was examined by the commander of the Northern Army, according to the officials. According to them, Lt Gen Dwivedi reviewed the operation with senior Army and police authorities. They continued by saying that he spoke with the soldiers involved in the operation. As the military maintained a tight cordon, the police suspect that two to three terrorists are trapped in the surrounding woodland.Late Friday night, Additional Director General of Police (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar said that “two to three trapped terrorists will be neutralised” and that the operation was started based on specific information. On Wednesday, a soldier, Major Ashish Dhonchak, Humayun Bhat, the deputy superintendent of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, and Colonel Manpreet Singh, the commanding officer of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles, were all killed in martyrdom incidents.
