The death toll in the overnight anti-terror operation in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir rose to three on Sunday as one of the two civilians injured in the encounter succumbed, officials said.
Abdul Rashid Dar, who was injured in terrorist firing on Saturday, succumbed to injuries at a hospital here early Sunday, the officials said.
Two Army personnel were killed and two civilians injured in a fierce gunfight with terrorists in the Ahlan Gagarmandu forest area of Anantnag district at an altitude of 10,000 feet on Saturday, officials said.
The operation to hunt down the ultras continued despite the challenging topography.
The firefight started on Saturday evening during a cordon and search operation that was initiated by the security forces based on intelligence reports indicating the presence of terrorists in the remote Ahlan Gagarmandu forest in the Kokernag belt.
According to officials, a group of terrorists opened fire at the joint search parties comprising Army personnel, including para commandos, and local police.
In the ensuing gun battle, six Army personnel and two civilians were injured, officials said, adding the injured soldiers were promptly taken to a nearby hospital where two succumbed shortly after arrival.
The slain army personnel have been identified as Havildar Dipak Kumar Yadav and Lance Naik Praveen Sharma.
Reinforcements have been deployed in the area and operations to locate and neutralise the fleeing terrorists are underway, the officials said.
This encounter is a grim reminder of a similar operation in the general area of Kokernag last September, during which four security personnel, including Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish and deputy SP Humayun Bhat were killed in the week-long engagement with terrorists.
Two terrorists, including a senior commander of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, were also neutralised during that operation.
Security forces have ramped up their efforts in the woods of Kokernag after an encounter in Doda district on July 15 that resulted in the deaths of four soldiers, including a captain.
It is believed that the terrorists involved in the recent Anantnag incident may have crossed over from Kishtwar district after escaping the confrontation in Doda.
Giving details of the current operation, a Srinagar-based defence spokesperson said that on August 5, it was confirmed through human and electronic means that terrorists responsible for atrocities in the Doda region in July have sneaked across the Kishtwar range into the Kapran-Garol area in south Kashmir.
"The Rashtriya Rifles and the Jammu and Kashmir Police have relentlessly tracked these terrorists and precise operations were launched on the night of August 9 and 10 in the mountains in the east of Kapran where these terrorists were reportedly holed up.
"Suspicious movement was observed at around 2 pm on August 10. Challenging (by security forces) was immediately responded by indiscriminate, desperate and reckless firing from terrorists in which two Army personnel and two civilians, in the vicinity were injured," the spokesperson said.
He said the terror antecedents of the injured civilians are being ascertained.
"The area is at an altitude of above 10,000 feet, has thick undergrowth, large boulders, nallahs and re-entrants that pose a serious challenge to operations. Security forces are moving deliberately and are in the process of hunting down the terrorists," the spokesperson said.
The situation remains tense as security forces continue their pursuit of the terrorists in the area.
