Hunt for militants enters Day 8 in Rajouri-Poonch forests, drones and helicopters deployed | India Information
3 min learnJammuMight 31, 2026 07:07 AM IST
Military, police and paramilitary forces continued combing the forests of Rajouri and close by Poonch for the eighth day Saturday, as search operations launched final week following reviews of militant presence expanded to extra areas.
Codenamed Operation Sheruwali, the searches had been launched within the Ghambir Mughalan forests of Rajouri on Might 22 following intelligence reviews however have now expanded to the forests of Surankote in Poonch, with safety forces utilizing sniffer canine, drones and helicopters to focus on areas suspected to be militant hideouts. Officers mentioned though safety forces sighted some militants final Saturday, there had been “no contact with militants” since then.
“The final time troops had contact with militants was final Saturday, however they managed to flee deeper contained in the forests after a short trade of fireplace,” an official mentioned. “The group seems to be effectively educated in jungle warfare in view of its technique of constantly altering location in order to keep away from contact with the search events.”
Officers consider 2-5 militants have been working within the space between the Rajouri-BG-Surankote street (Nationwide Freeway 144-A) and the Rajouri-Thanamandi-DKG-Buffliaz street for the final two-three years. “There are two teams — one hiding in forests in Rajouri and the opposite in Surankote in Poonch district. They seem to have come all the way down to the decrease heights of Pir Panjal to flee relentless search operations by the counter-insurgency Romeo Drive within the forests of Sukhsar and Lalansar, adjoining the Kashmir Valley, during the last three months.”
Characterised by thick forest cowl, the forests connecting Rajouri and Poonch districts beforehand witnessed militant assaults wherein 10 safety personnel had been killed in two main assaults on April 20 and Might 5, 2023. In keeping with officers, the contiguous forests, which span each Jammu and Kashmir, supply ultimate cowl and comparatively easy accessibility to Kashmir, allegedly aiding militants’ escape.
“Because of this, at any time when safety forces and police launch operations in opposition to militants in a single district, they handle to slide into one other and even the Valley,” they mentioned.
In keeping with officers, one of many militants seems to have been wounded in final week’s encounter, with search events discovering blood stains contained in the forests. Huge plumes of smoke had been seen rising from the forests final Thursday after heavy gunfire and a number of grenade explosions, though a senior Military officer attributed these to go looking events attempting to forestall ambushes.
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On April 20, a militant ambush on an Military truck carrying fruit for locals close to Bhimber Gali led to the loss of life of 5 troopers. 5 extra elite Military para-commandos had been killed within the huge combing operation that adopted within the Kesari Hill space in Rajouri’s Kandi forest.
These killings got here two years after 9 troopers had been killed within the Chamrer and Bhatta Durrian forests in what was then one in all Jammu’s longest operations in three a long time.
