Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 16: Security forces have launched a massive operation in North Kashmir’s Sopore area after they reportedly trapped a group of heavily armed militants in a village this afternoon.
The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Sopore Police and counter-insurgency Kilo Force of Army cordoned off Hard Shiva village in North Kashmir’s Sopore area last evening after reports of presence of a heavily militant group in the village. They had to call off the operation after they couldn’t locate militants in the village.
The SOG and Kilo Force this afternoon again cordoned off the village after they received information about the presence of a heavily armed group of around 5-6 militants present in the village.
The sources said that several companies of the Kilo Force of the Army were rushed to the area in the evening and the cordon was tightened as the security forces believed that the militant group is hiding somewhere in the village.
This is the same area where Army and police killed a divisional commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and his two associates while LeT chief Fahadullah gave slip to them early this week.
The security forces had initially launched the operation in Cherhar area of Bandipora in North Kashmir on December 12 where four militants including the LeT chief was present in the house of village Sarpanch.
The four militants including the LeT chief slipped out of the security cordon but three of them were next day gunned down in the operation in the nearby villages.
The killed militants were identified as divisional commander of LeT for North Kashmir Abu Zarar, a local militant Khitab of Kulgam district of South Kashmir and Pakistan national Yehya Khan of Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit.
However, sources said that Fahadullah who escaped from Cherhar village during the cordon early this week is not part of the trapped militant group in village Hard Shiva.
Fahadullah is the most wanted militant commander who is mostly operating from North Kashmir’s Sopore area for past 5 years. He infiltrated into Kashmir valley in 2007 and graduated to the LeT chief as the successive chiefs were killed over the years. He was injured in 2009 during an encounter in Sopore’s Badam Bagh area.
Fahadullah succeeded Abdullah Uni, the most wanted militant commander of LeT who had fled from security cordons dozens of times. Uni was killed by Police and Army during an operation in Sopore town last year.
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