The body of a militant was recovered during a search operation in the Pir Panjal valley’s Reasi district on Friday. Meanwhile, eight alleged militant supporters were arrested and arms recovered from them near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kashmir valley.
“During a search operation along with the police’s Special Operation Group and Village Defence Committee (VDC) members in the early morning hours, the body of a likely foreign terrorist was found in the jungle area. Warlike stores were recovered from the terrorist,” Lt. Col. Suneel Bartwal, a Jammu-based defence spokesman, said.
The Army said security forces have been “continuing relentless operations in the jungle areas of Reasi district”.
The Army spokesman said the body was of a terrorist who was injured but managed to escape during an operation in Rajouri on August 5. Two Pakistani terrorists were trapped during an encounter at Gundha Khawas in Rajouri area on August 5.
The police suspect that the slain militant had been involved in many terror-crime cases in Rajouri-Poonch region, including the recent attack on special forces at Kesari Hill and the Dhangri terror incident.
Arms recovered
In north Kashmir’s Kupwara, a huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered during a search operation in the Machil sector of Kupwara, the Army said.
Five AK rifles, seven pistols, four hand grenades and other incriminating material were among the recovered arms, the Army added.
In Baramulla, two terror modules were busted and eight “terrorist associates” were held on Friday, according to the police.
”During a patrolling and area domination at Churanda, Uri, one suspected person was roaming in the area. He tried to flee while noticing the patrolling party but was apprehended tactfully,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Baramulla, Amod Nagpure said. Two grenades were recovered from his possession.
The police said the arrested person, identified as Showkat Ali Awan, from Uri, revealed the names of his two accomplices. The police said two grenades, one Chinese pistol, one pistol magazine and four live rounds were recovered from their possession.
In a separate operation at Powarian Thaial, Uri, on August 11, the police said five persons, onboard a vehicle, insisted on being allowed to proceed to a hospital “due to medical emergencies”.
“The police party searched the vehicle and found four hand grenades, two pistols, two pistol magazines, 10 live rounds and ₹50,000 in cash,” the police said.
All the five persons were taken into custody. “The accused are involved in cross-border smuggling of arms and ammunition at the behest of Pakistan-based terror handlers and in its further distribution to the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists for carrying out terror activities,” the police said.
