Srinagar, Sept 18 (UNI) The body of a soldier who was missing after the Wednesday gun battle at Gadole Kokarnag Anantnag has been recovered by forces, officials said on Monday.

This has taken the toll in the fierce gunfight to four.

Officials said the body of the missing soldier was recovered by the forces on Monday - the sixth day of the anti-militancy operation.

Meanwhile, sporadic gunfire was heard in the forest area in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district as the massive anti-militancy operation continued.

Officials said the search and sanitising operations resumed early this morning and sporadic gunfire was heard in the area.

The face-off between the militants and security forces in Gadol Kokernag has been going on since Wednesday after two decorated Army officers - Colonel Manpreet Singh, Commanding Officer of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles, his company commander, Major Aashish Dhonchak - and Deputy Superintendent of Police Himayun Muzamil Bhat were killed and two other soldiers were injured in a gun battle.

Sources said that forces were taking extra care while combing the forest area very cautiously to ensure that there were no new casualties.

While there were unconfirmed reports about the recovery of an unidentified charred body from the hideout, there is no official word about any militant casualty in over 130-hour long operation so far.

Officials have been saying that the two to three Lashkar-e-Taiba militants who were behind the attack had positioned themselves in a tactical location in the dense forest area. The joint forces have used heavy weapons and used the latest technology to pinpoint the location of the hiding militants and drive them out from the hideout.


UNI MJR SSP