Kulgam, July 17 (KNS): Army on Friday claimed to have received credible inputs that suggest militant are planning to hit Amarnath Yatra on 270-km long Sringar – Jammu highway any time. It also said that there are almost 100 active militants in south Kashmir that include 25 to 30 foreigners as well.
Addressing media personnel in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, Sector Commander 9RR, Brigadier V S Thakur said that army has received credible inputs that militants are intending to target Amarnath Yatra somewhere on 270-km long Srinagar Jammu stretch. “Army is fully ready to foil any misadventure by militants for smooth conduct of Amarnath pilgrimage which is to be commenced from July 21st”, he said.
When asked about the figure of active militants in south Kashmir parts, Sector Commander 9 RR Brig V S Thakur said that there are around 100 militants active in parts of south Kashmir among which 25 to 35 are foreigners.
About the Nagnad operation in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, he said the operation is full of challenges as after getting the inputs about the presence of two to three militants in village Nagnad in Kulgam, from the Deputy Inspector General of Police South Kashmir, a siege was laid at around 4:30 am in the morning. “The first challenge was that there was a single road access to the house where militants were hiding and the closest base was 10 to 12 km’s away,” the army officer said. He said that second challenge was the safety of civilians of the house where militants had taken refuge.
“Our troops showed resilience and didn’t even resort to speculative fire at the target house,” he said. He said an appeal was made to the civilians to evacuate the house. “Two militants fired indiscriminately upon the forces with small arms and also lobbed grenades with an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL),” Brigadier Thakur said, adding that both were killed without causing any harm to civilians or the house they were hiding in.
He said when civilians were coming out, one remaining militant who was wearing a pheran (traditional Kashmiri gown) with a weapon inside, tried to move out with the civilians. “He was physically stopped and when he tried to use his weapon, there was a hand to hand fight between him and a soldier of 9 RR, who successfully shot the militant down who was identified as Waleed, a Pakistani national.
He said a huge quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from the three slain militants which include a US made M-4 Carbine, one Ak-47, five magazines, a few grenades and a UBGL.
Brigadier Thakur said that the slain militants were possibly involved in the killing of five migrant Bengali labourers on October 29 last year in Kulgam, when EU delegation was on a Kashmir visit. “They were also involved in the killing of four civilians on April 4 this year at Nandimarg, Kulgam,” he said, adding that the slain militants were also luring youth towards militancy. (KNS)