In the frontier area of Kupwara district, close to the Line of Control (LoC), army men are engaged in one of the longest anti-militancy operations to trace 2-3 “battle hardened” militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Though the Army has scaled down the size of the operation, the siege around the dense forests — around 15 km from the LoC covering five villages — continues.
In the one-month battle, one militant was gunned down and another died of cold. But, the Army also lost an officer of Special Forces, Col Santosh Mahadik, who was commanding an elite counter-insurgency unit. Another officer, Lt Colonel KS Natt, was critically wounded along with five security men. Choppers and UAVs have been pressed into service to track down militants.“They (militants) are battle hardened,” said Kupwara Senior Superintendent of Police Aijaz Bhat, adding: “They have survived for so long. This shows the level of their training.”
The cordon around the cluster of villages housed on the foothills of Shamasbari range has been lifted and inhabitants are allowed to move freely. However, the vast thick forest area is still under cordon.
Army officers claim they have combed around 20 sq km forest area in the past one month to trace the militants who had four brief contacts with the security forces at different spots.
Though the Army has moved out of the villages, a makeshift camp at Glasdaji village and a temporary police post at Hajinaka sarpanch Bagu Malik’s house are still stationed in the village to keep vigil in the area. The anti-militancy operation in the area, which has a huge civilian population working in the Army, has been peaceful since last one decade. A fresh water stream virtually cuts the area in two parts and combing operation has been underway on the right side of the stream. The challenge, the Army said, is only weather and tough terrain.
“The terrain is difficult and the connectivity to the area is very poor. That’s why the operation is taking so long. Also, we have been ensuring that there is no collateral damage during the ongoing operation,” said Brigadier SP Singh, who is commanding the troops. “We lost our brave Colonel Mahadik due to poor visibility in the area.”
The group of militants was reportedly launched in the last week of October from Pakistan occupied Kashmir and the security forces said they received a tip-off regarding it. The area where the operation is underway is usually a transit point for the militants who, after infiltrating from Shamasbari range, shift to adjoining Lolab area.
“After the tip-off, searches and patrolling was intensified and on November 10, a body of a militant who had died of cold was found at Kumkadi forest area. After the recovery of the body, we were sure that our information about infiltration was correct. We worked more on the inputs and finally on November 13, we had our first contact with the militants who are 2-3 in number and still hiding in the forests,” said Brigadier Singh.
“The way militants have fired at security men, it seems they are keeping an eye on our movements. They are well-equipped and have enough food to sustain for so long,” another Army official said.
The unending battle in J-K
November 10: Body of a militant recovered
November 13: A massive search operation launched in Haihama forest
November 16: Brief exchange of fire with ultras takes place
November 17: Col Santosh Mahadik killed, a policeman injured
November 22: Lt Col KS Natt injured
November 23: A militant killed in Hajinakah
November 27: Contact reestablished with militants
A month on, hunt for militants in Kupwara forests continues
