Anantnag encounter day 7: Army recovers body of 4th soldier, may make final push today

Digital Desk: The Anantnag encounter in Jammu and Kashmir, which can be considered one of the longest, has entered Day 7. Security personnel believe that one to two terrorists are still trapped, although one of the terrorists' charred body was found this morning.

Samples have been collected for DNA testing as another body, which was also recovered from the spot, suspected to be of army personnel, identified as Pradeep. This brings the total number of casualties to four: three members of the Indian Army and one officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

The army is set to make a final push on Day 7 with the target of completing the operation since the body of the last soldier was recovered.

The intense gunbattle, which lasted for more than 100 hours in Kokernag of South Kashmir's Anantnag area, between the Pakistan-backed terrorists and security forces.

The operation to flush out terrorists, which entered day six on Monday, has been underway in the Gadole forest area of Anantnag since Wednesday (13 Sept), when three brave members of the security forces, Commanding Officer of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish Dhonchak, and Deputy Superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir Police Humayun Bhat lost their lives in the operation.

The security forces are using drones and helicopters to monitor a dense forest area with multiple cave-like hideouts where the terrorists are believed to have taken up residence since Wednesday, said the officials.

In a bid to prevent the terrorists from infiltrating civilian areas, the security perimeter was extended to the nearby Posh Kreeri area on Sunday.

What happened so far

Riveting footage that revealed the deployment of weaponized drones being used tactically to destroy terrorist cave hideouts surfaced on Friday night.

Security forces are exerting every effort to destroy terrorist hideouts nestled away in the difficult terrain of Gadool Hill as part of the Anantnag operation, which has grown into one of the longest military battles in Kashmir.

According to information, there may be two to three terrorists hiding in the area, including two members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), including the group's LeT commander Uzair Khan.