M A I N   N E W S

Kathua encounter on, no breakthrough
S.P.Sharma
Tribune News Service

Ghatti (Kathua), September 5
Sporadic exchange of fire between the Army and the seven holed-up militants continued here for the fourth day today. There was no breakthrough either in capturing or eliminating the militants taking advantage of dense foliage.

The village Defence Committee (VDC) members said that the intensity of firing from militants has decreased since yesterday afternoon and it cannot be said for certain whether some of the militants had escaped or killed by the Army.

The Army officers supervising the operation refused to say anything more than that “the operation was continuing”.

The Panthers Party leader, Mr Bhim Singh, was the first political leader to visit here today to witness the operation. He told media persons that a senior commander of the Army should be appointed chairman of the Unified Command of the Army, para-military forces, the police and intelligence agencies in place of Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed to tackle terrorist activities.

The encounter between the security forces and the militants had begun on Tuesday afternoon when they reached here after infiltrating from the border with Pakistan.

With firing from both sides continuing for more than 80 hours now, this has become the longest encounter between the security forces and the militants in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy came to the state.

The troops have encircled the forest, but taking advantage of the dense foliage the militants have escaped. The Army authorities were hopeful of ending the encounter by this afternoon, but their plans did not materialise. An army officer said that the forces were zeroing in on the area where the militants were suspected to be hiding and it might take some time for results to come as the progress was slow because of the terrain.

SRINAGAR: Five persons, including four militants, were killed while security forces averted a major tragedy in the Kashmir valley overnight.

An official spokesman said security forces averted a major tragedy when they detected and later defused a mine planted at Nowpora Bandipora in Baramula district last evening.

Security forces killed two militants in an encounter at Ringbala Machil in the Frontier district of Kupwara today.

Another militant was killed in similar operation at Beerwa in the central Kashmir district of Badgam last night. One AK rifle and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militant.

A decomposed body of militant, Mohammad Yousuf Baluch, a resident of Gujranwala in Pakistan, was recovered in North Kashmir.