Holed up militants from Jaish,says Army

Unlike operation ‘Sarp Nash’ in 2003 during which security forces had come across bunkers built by militants,Brig Singh said in the current operation,there were no such reports of bunkers being set up by the ultras in the forest area.

The militants were using natural caves with rocks around them as hideouts in the region,he said.

Replying to questions on the operation that began on January 1,he said,”it is not possible to specify as of now how long the operation will last.”

The officer said the undulating forest terrain in the region and the weather were acting as major constraints for the army in flushing them out.

“We are carrying out a deliberate operation to wear out the terrorists and to ensure that the casualties among our own forces are avoided. That’s why we are taking time to eliminate the terrorists holed up here,” Singh added.

Strongly denying reports that there were 1,500 troops deployed in the operation,the Brigadier said that there were just about 350 men on the ground as of now battling the terrorists.

On whether more troops from specialised forces such as the National Security Guards would be joining the operation,Brig Singh said he had enough men to do the job and the troops were doing well.

Army also said it suspected militants to be still holed up in the forests as two small arm shots had been fired by the militants since this morning from different spots in the operational area.

“There are militants holed up there. We know it from the gun shots yesterday and today. It would not be right to guess their number at this point,” he said.

Maintaining that the army had busted a couple of caves,where the militants were hiding during the operation,he said they had recovered some ammunition,rocket propelled grenades,some ration and a radio set from the busted hideouts.

“This is not the only operation in the area. We have witnessed several other operations too and the army has eliminated militants before also,” he said.

Pointing out that militants have been very active in the this area,he said there were reports of some local support,but it could be due to duress. “The police have arrested a couple of over ground workers of the terror groups recently,” he said.

On the recovery of GI sheets from the militants,Singh said these were used to cover the openings to the caves,where they were hiding,so as to protect them from the weather.

“There were no bunkers,but only caves in which a couple of GI sheets were used to cover the opening,” he said.