Operation Khoj in Kashmir the biggest against terrorists

JAMMU - A senior army commander Saturday claimed that the operation against terrorists in Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir for the past week was one of the biggest in recent years.

The operation was codenamed ‘Operation Khoj’ or operation search. It started on March 27 and went on till April 2.

General Officer Commanding (GOC) of counter insurgency Uniform Force Major General M.M.S. Rai told reporters in Reasi Saturday that the offensive against terrorists left 16 terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) dead in the past one week and six soldiers also lost their lives in gun battles with the terrorists.

“This was one of the biggest operations in Rajouri in recent years,” he said. He claimed that the “army acted swiftly and in time and neutralized the terrorists before they could move up in hills and cause any major damage.”

“During these operations we have eliminated all the 16 militants in four different encounters and this was possible due to the cooperation of Jammu and Kashmir police and other paramilitary forces, particularly Central Reserve Police Force.”

The army also recovered satellite phones, AK-47 rifles from the militants.

“All the terrorists belonged to the LeT group,” he said.

Gen. Rai said that the army has stepped up its vigil and all the major routes were being “intensely patrolled”.

Four terrorists and an army soldier were killed in a gun battle in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district Friday.

The first contact with the militants was made in Dharmsal area of Kalakote in Rajouri March 27 and two terrorists were killed.

The second contact took place in Thrayth Tuesday, triggering an 18-hour gun battle that lasted into Wednesday and left four guerrillas and three soldiers dead.

Six terrorists were killed in Rajouri district Thursday.