Kupwara gunfight alerts security grid in Kashmir

The Army, CRPF and the SOG wing of the Jammu and Kashmir police have gathered leads which suggest that highly trained infiltrators have either crossed over to the border areas in North Kashmir or are readying themselves to do so.

The entire security grid is reportedly working on a plan to sanitise the forest areas of Kupwara, Keran and Karna in North Kashmir with areal help. The most recent gunfight in the forests of Kupwara was an example of this. The 42-hour long operation proved to be one of the biggest security operations conducted in Kashmir, in which about 1,200 men security men participated. The operation was assisted by para-commandos and helicopters and it left five Lashkar militants and an equal number of men in uniform dead.

A senior security officer said that after receiving credible reports about the presence of the group of Lashkar militants in the forests of Kupwara, the army and the paramilitary forces sealed the entire area to nab them.

According to the sources close to the security grid operations, a massive search operation would be launched in the entire forests belt close to the LOC in North Kashmir soon. State Director General of Police, S.P. Vaid told reporters that it was a difficult operation as the militants were hiding in the thick forest cover.

Local reports from Halmithpora and adjacent areas said that hundreds of men in uniform were still in the forests looking for more militants and also searching for a missing cop Abdul Majid Bajad, who had gone missing when the encounter started.