Had come down to village to collect food
*Joint search by security forces in Pir Panjal range
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 17: Security forces today eliminated a foreign terrorist of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) at village Behrot in Budhal tehsil of Rajouri district amid reports that some of his associates might be hiding in the upper reaches for whom a joint hunt has been launched by the multiple agencies.
Reliable inputs revealed that the foreign terrorist, most likely a Pakistani, came down to Behrote from upper reaches for collecting food for his group when he was spotted by the locals, Village Defence Groups (VDGs) and police. Immediately thereafter, teams of Army, police and CRPF cordoned off the village.
He took shelter in a house and opened firing on the approaching security personnel who acted swiftly but cautiously to avoid civilian casualties.
“In heavy exchange of gun fighting for about two hours, the terrorist was eliminated by security forces,” the officials said.
SSP Rajouri Amritpal Singh, who supervised operation, said the slain militant appeared to be the foreign terrorist but his identity hasn’t been established so far. He added that one AK rifle, three magazines, three grenades and a pouch were recovered from the possession of slain militant.
He was believed to be an activist of the LeT outfit.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the foreign terrorist appeared to be part of two or three terrorists hiding in upper reaches of Pir Panjal. He came down to the village to collect food from the local people and was trapped and eliminated.
Security forces have launched search operations in Behrote and its upper reaches to ensure that associates of slain militants, if any, don’t manage to escape. The terrorists were reportedly heading to South Kashmir and had stopped at Pir Panjal for food. The Pir Panjal mountains are sometimes used by the terrorists to reach to South Kashmir.
Security agencies were trying to find out from where the foreign terrorists reached Behrote and whether they were part of fresh group infiltrated from the Line of Control (LoC) or were staying in Pir Panjal mountains already. However, all out efforts have been launched by the security agencies to eliminate the terrorists.
A First Information Report (FIR) in this connection has been registered at Budhal Police Station under Sections 307, 120-B, 121, 122 IPC, 7/25/27 Arms Act, 13/16/18/23 Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and ¾ Explosive Substances Act.
This year, a large number of terrorists have been killed in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch by Army and police, both on the Line of Control (LoC) as well as hinterland. The number of militants killed this year in the two districts, as per the sources, could be around 35. Some militants, however, are still active in the two districts though there were reports that few others prefer to reach South Kashmir from Pir Panjal Range.
The year had, however, started with the killing of seven civilians from minorities at village Dhangri in Rajouri district. On April 20, five Army soldiers attained martyrdon in a terror attack at Bhatta Durrian in Mendhar while on May 5, five para commandos of the Army lost their lives in Rajouri forests. However, since then, a number of terrorists have been killed in the hinterland as well besides the Line of Control (LoC).
Follow our WhatsApp channel
