Srinagar, Oct 16: A counter-insurgency operation continued on Saturday in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts as the Indian Army has now deployed para commandos to eliminate terrorists whose exact number is still not known.

 

 

Five soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), were killed in the first exchange of gunfire between the combing troops and the terrorists on Tuesday. On Friday, two soldiers were killed, while reports said a JCO who was missing. But there has been no official confirmation on the missing JCO.

 

A counter-terrorist operation by the Army was launched in the area of Nar Khas Forest in Mendhar, Poonch on the evening of October 14. During the operation, there was a heavy exchange of fire and in the ensuing gunfight, two Army personnel were critically injured and later succumbed to their injuries. The personnel were identified as Rifleman Vikram Singh Negi (26) hailed from village Viman Gaon, Narendra Nagar, in Uttrakhand's Tehri Garhwal district and Rifleman Yogambar Singh was a resident of Sankari village in Chamoli district of Uttrakhand.

 

 

Army troops along with the Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police on October 15 had launched a search operation in this dense forest. According to police, vehicular traffic had been suspended on the highway between Bhimber Gali and Surankote on Friday.

 

On the other hand, an encounter between security forces and terrorists is underway in the Drangbal area of Pampore in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. In the early hours of Saturday, top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Umar Mustaq Khandey was trapped, said Kashmir Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar. He is involved in the killings of two police personnel at Baghat, Srinagar and other terror crimes.

 

 

He is one of the top 10 terrorists targeted by the Jammu and Kashmir police. The top ten terrorists include Salim Parray, Yousuf Kantroo, Abbas Sheikh, Reyaz Shetergund, Farooq Nali, Zubair Wani, Ashraf Molvi, Saqib Manzoor, Umer Mustaq Khandey and Wakeel Shah.

 

 

"Top 10 #targets: #Old #terrorists- Salim Parray, Yousuf Kantroo, Abbas Sheikh, Reyaz Shetergund, Farooq Nali, Zubair Wani & Ashraf Molvi. #New #terrorists- Saqib Manzoor, Umer Mustaq Khandey & Wakeel Shah: IGP Kashmir @JmuKmrPolice," Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.