Three Let militants killed in J-K encounter

The slain militants were part of the heavily armed group which appeared to have sneaked into the state from across the Line of Control through the plains of Palanwala sector on the intervening night of March 22-23. With this,the total number of militants killed by troops and police during the last one week has gone to 15 as six militants were killed in adjoining Dharamsal forests only yesterday.

The Army too have lost its four men including a havaldar,while a police inspector has been injured during the 12 day long operation which is still in progress.

Fourteen AK rifles,besides UBGLs,pistols,half a dozen satellite phones and almost an equal number of global positioning systems (GPS),besides Rs 1.30 lakh in Indian currency are among various things seized from them.

The militants were first spotted by a villager and two women and they had asked them to show the route to Rajouri through Kalidhar range. However,they let them go after sometime,but not before beating them up.

Last year,troops and state police personnel had jointly laid seize of Bhatti Dhar forests in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district for 11 days during January last year wherein two armymen including a junior commissioned officer and a Special Police Officer were among seven people killed. However,the militants had managed to escape.

Sources said that militants appear to have been unable to move towards their destination which appears to be Doda or Kashmir Valley due to large scale combing operation simultaneously launched at various places by troops and state police personnel after the news about their having been spotted by some villagers poured in. The first contact with the infiltrating group was established at Kabakote in Rajouri district where two militants were killed on March 27.

Three days thereafter,the troops again tracked down the militants in Dharamsal forests in Kalakote areas through intercept of their satellite phones and killed four more during a night long encounter at Tiryath.

A similar combing operation was in progress in the nearby Bagla forests the same day,but militants managed to escape. Following this,troops from other formations in neighbouring areas were also rushed to bagla on March 31 and six militants were killed there the next day.