Encounter in Poonch enters fifth day

Poonch, Jan 5: The constant gunbattle between militants and security forces in Poonch has entered the fifth day on Tuesday, Jan 5. The fierce battle has killed three security force personnel and four ultras till now.

"The fierce gunbattle resumed this morning after a night-long break. Army and police have put a three-tier cordon and are zeroing in on the cave-type hideouts in Bhatidhar forests," defence sources had earlier said.

Heavy fog leading to poor visibility has added to the hassle of the security personnel. "A major assault was launched in these strong cave-type hideouts to destroy them", the sources added.

"Seven persons, including three security men - JCO subedar Rakesh Kumar, Naik P K Singh and Special Police Officer (SPO) Naresh Kumar -- have lost their lives. Four militants have been killed but their bodies have not been recovered so far," northern command spokesman Col D K Kachari said.

Apart from Romeo Force's 29th unit and 26 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu Kashmir police, authorities have rushed para units of special forces to the area besides some additional troops.

Security forces have closed in on the building where 7-8 Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants including LeT commander Abu Omar and JeM local commander Abu Dawood are holed-up. Heavy gunfire is reportedly still being exchanged with the militants hurling grenades, pika and firing from assault rifles, making it only harder for security personnel to overpower them.

OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)