Posted on 07/16/2002 6:20:03 AM PDT by swarthyguy
JAMMU, July 15: Army and police today killed six terrorists across Doda and Poonch districts and foiled terrorists’ plot to target Sarthal Mata pilgrimage by defusing a powerful explosive device planted on the yatra track.
Official sources said army eliminated three Pakistani terrorists after a two hour long encounter at Angan Pathri in Mandi sector of Poonch district this afternoon. The terrorists were killed when their hideout was stormed by army personnel after developing an information about their presence in Angan Pathri at the height of 9,000 feet from sea level, falling in famous Pir Panjal range.
While one of the terrorists was killed immediately after the troops stormed the hideout, his associates fled towards a surrounding forest and gave a tough fight to security personnel. Two of them were finally gunned down by army soldiers after about two hours of cross-firing, the sources said.
Two slain terrorists have been identified as Kasif Bhatt and Mohd Aslam, both Pakistanis. Identity of the third ultra, however, couldn’t be ascertained. Three AK-56 rifles, three magazines, 38 rounds and one wireless set were recovered from possession of the slain terrorists, they said.
Army didn’t suffer any casualties in the operation.
Our Udhampur correspondent adds: Army and Doda police today killed two terrorists at Malsar Narh in Warwan area of Kishtwar tehsil in Doda district.
The terrorists, one of whom has been identified as Abu Ilyas alias Jangi, were killed after more than four hour long searches carried out jointly by army and police in upper reaches of Warwan, SP Doda Vijay Singh Samyal said.
He said security forces were camping in Malsar Narh for last two days following reports given by local people about movement of the terrorists. A contact with the ultras was established this morning and two terrorists were killed by the afternoon, he added.
He didn’t rule out the possibility of some terrorists having managed to escape during the exchange of firing. He said searches were going on in the hills to eliminate other terrorists. Recoveries made from the spot included one AK-47 rifle with three magazines, one pistol with two magazines, one grenade and one wireless set.
Identity of second terrorist, killed in the operation, hasn’t been established but he was believed to be a foreign mercenary.
Another terrorist was killed in an encounter with security forces at Banjari Dhar in Gandoh. He has been identified as Noor Mohd son of Sham Din Gujjar, a resident of Dadkei Dhensa in Gandoh and an activist of Hizbul Mujahideen. From him, security forces recovered one AK rifle, one magazine and a wireless set.
Meanwhile, security forces today detected a powerful 15 kg weight IED on Sarthal road, about one and a half kilometer from Kishtwar at 0600 hours today. The IED was safely defused after about half an hour operation, the sources said.
The IED had been planted by the terrorists to target Sarthal Mata pilgrimage, scheduled to begin on Wednesday. A catastrophe was averted with timely detection of the IED, which had been fixed by the terrorists under a culvert.
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