As guns fall silent on Day 3 of Kulgam encounter, security forces launch searches

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Security forces launched searches in the forests of Kulgam to look for any bodies of militants or ammunition after the exchange of firing stopped on the third day of the encounter with militants on Sunday. Operation continues in Akhal Devsar area of Kulgam district for the third consecutive day, on Sunday. (ANI Video Grab)
Officials said that the Akhal forest exchange of fire between security forces and militants which had started on Friday evening continued till Sunday noon.
'The firing between the two sides continued from Friday to Sunday noon. Now it has stopped and searches are going on in the forest area,' said an official of the police control room, Kulgam on Sunday evening.
He said that one body of the slain militant has been recovered so far.
'One body was recovered on Saturday morning and after that the firing continued again. After the firing stopped around noon on Sunday, the searches were conducted by the security forces but no other body has been recovered so far. Only one body recovered in the three-day operation,' he said.
Earlier on Friday, a joint operation by the army, police and other security forces was started after information about the presence of militants in the Akhal Kulgam area in south Kashmir. As the militants targeted security forces, an exchange of firing started which continued intermittently.
'Intermittent and intense firing continued through the night. Alert troops responded with calibrated fire and tightened the noose while maintaining contact. One terrorist has been neutralised by the security forces so far,' army's Chinar Corps said on Saturday.
The encounter comes days after three Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Dachigam forests of Srinagar on July 28. The trio was responsible for the massacre of 25 tourists and a local tourist guide in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam on April 22.