4 hideouts busted, war like stores recovered in Kashmir

Srinagar, Jun 23 (UNI) Security forces unearthed four hideouts and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including RDX and other explosives, grenades, UBGLs and detonators in the Kashmir valley overnight.

A Border Security Force (BSF) spokesperson said the troops of 95 battalion conducted a search operation in general area at Gugaldhar in the frontier district of Kupwara on specific information about militant hideouts.

He said during the operation a hideout was busted and a large quantity of arms and ammunition, including one AK rifle, five AK magazines, 199 rounds of AK ammunitions, one Chinese pistol, six pistol magazines, 158 rounds of pistol ammunition, 14 UBGL grenades, seven hand grenades, three Chinese hand grenades, one drum type UMG magazine, 75 rounds of PIKA ammunition, four electronic detonators, five detonator assemblies, one radio set with battery and antenna, five IED timer devices and one twelve bore gun wrapped in gunny bags and buried underground were recovered.

A defence spokesperson said a joint search operation was launched by Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police and eight Raj Rifles (RR) at Handwara in the frontier district of Kupwara early this morning.

After a long search of the entire area, troops and SOG personnel finally unearthed a cave type underground hideout.

The arms and ammunition recovered from the hideout included one Universal Machine Gun (UMG) with drum magazine, one ak rifle with magazine and 27 rounds of ammunition, four UBGL grenades, four hand grenades, 20 electric detonators, 2.5 kg of explosive, three anti- personnel mines, one Improvised Explosive Device (IED) with fuse, one binocular and one pouch. However, no one was arrested, he said.

This was the second major recovery by the troops in the Kashmir valley during the past 24 hours.

Troops of 126 Territorial Army yesterday unearthed a hideout during a search operation at Sonmarg on Srinagar-Baltal, base camp of Amarnath pilgrimage route.

The arms and ammunition recovered included ten kg explosive, 20 hand grenades, eight UBGL grenades, two RPG and one pistol.

The annual yatra will start from the shortest Baltal and traditional Pahalgam route from June 30.

He said, 35 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) recovered 25 kg explosive, one pistol, 493 rounds of ammunition, two RPG, six hand grenades at Badgam while two PARA recovered nine Explosive Device switches and 47 rounds of ammunition at Kupwara. However, no one was arrested.

UNI