Brief exchange of firing in Doda forests; Villagers join search operation
armed forces established brief contact with terrorists on Wednesday during the search operation in the Bhata Desa forest area of Doda district, where four Army personnel and a policeman were killed in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.
Village defence guards also opened fire on suspicious movement observed outside Melan village of the Desa area. Two explosive shells were recovered from the Sinoo forest area of Gandoh in the same district, where three infiltrators were killed on June 26 and a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including a US-made M4 carbine, were recovered.
The exchange of fire took place within a span of a few hours during the search operation. However, no casualty or injuries were reported from either side. «Search operation is going on in the area, but they (terrorists) took advantage of the challenging terrain, thick forest and darkness and managed to flee,» said an official.
The Jammu-based defence spokesperson informed that Indian Army has been conducting joint and coordinated operations with J&K Police to target foreigners who have infiltrated and are moving in the upper reaches of Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar and Bhaderwah districts and operations are being conducted in Kathua area as well. The Army has also pressed in elite para commandos with aerial support from drones and sniffer dogs on ground to eliminate infiltrators from the forest areas.
Despite the challenging terrain and weather conditions, efforts are underway to track down and neutralise the terrorists who have links
