A tip-off about the presence of a group of militants in a forest area in Rajouri on Saturday initiated a fresh combing operation by the Army in the Pir Panjal valley, where nine soldiers lost their lives to the twin firefights with militants in October.
Official sources said the Army fanned out its men in a vast area of the Khablan forests “immediately after local villagers tipped them off about the presence of heavily armed militants”.
“No contact is established yet. However, the combing operation was carried out during the day,” the officials said.
The fresh operation resulted in the closing down of the Thanmandi-Rajouri road for traffic “as a precautionary measure”.
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Enhanced militancy
The twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch in the Pir Panjal valley saw heightened militancy this year. Top Army officials in the past 27 days visited the area to augment the anti-terror grid.
Multiple groups of militants engaged the Army in twin firefights on October 11 and 14 in the valley, which resulted in the death of nine soldiers, including two officers.
These militant groups were spotted in the Surankote and Mendhar forests.
The longest search operation was launched in the Bhatti Durrian in the Pir Panjal valley in the last week of October.
One militant was killed in the area when he was taken to the forest “to identify the infiltration routes” from a Jammu jail.
Tough terrain has proven advantageous to the infiltrators, who hide in some natural caves and also take shelter in the forest, officials said.
