Anantnag's 7-day encounter over, LeT terrorist killed: Police

A long-drawn security operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district has ended with the killing of a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, the police said on Tuesday.

The operation had begun on Wednesday after the army and police launched a joint operation in Gadol forest after intelligence inputs about the presence of Lashkar terrorists.

Four security personnel, including three officers -- Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish Dhonak and Deputy Superintendent of Police Himayun Bhat of J&K Police -- were killed in the encounter.

Search operation to continue

Additional Director General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said that LeT commander Uzair Khan was among the two terrorists killed in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district that ended after seven days.

"Till now, LeT commander Uzair Khan's body has been recovered. The dead body of another terrorist is visible, but it has not been possible to retrieve it yet," the ADGP said. "There is a huge area that remains to be searched."

Kumar asked people not to venture toward forest areas due to the presence of unexploded shells. "There can be a lot of unexploded shells which will be recovered and destroyed. We appeal to the people not to go to the area," the ADGP said.

He said the gunfight, which began in the Gadole forest area of the south Kashmir district on Wednesday last week, is over, but the search operation will continue.

On the sixth day, security forces recovered two bodies from the Gadole forest. One of the bodies was identified as Pradeep Singh. Sepoy Pradeep Singh had been missing since September 13 and was found dead at around 5 PM on Monday. He was part of the Kokernag operations.

Drones, and helicopters deployed

Security forces deployed drones and helicopters for surveillance of the forest area with several cave-like hideouts where the terrorists were holed up since Wednesday. In order to ensure that the terrorists do not slip into civilian areas, the security cordon was extended to the neighbouring Posh Kreeri area on September 17.

L-G Manoj Sinha vowed to avenge the death

On Sunday evening, Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha stated that every drop of blood of the killed security personnel will be avenged and the terrorist handlers will be made to pay a heavy price. "We have complete faith in our soldiers... The entire nation stands in solidarity with the jawans," Sinha said.

Sinha also claimed the terrorist attack in Anantnag was due to frustration in the terrorist ranks and the crackdown on conflict profiteers in Jammu and Kashmir.