J&K encounter Day 3: Soldier dies of injuries, fresh blasts, gunfire

During the encounter in the Anantnag area of Jammu and Kashmir, which started on Wednesday, a soldier passed away from his wounds on Friday. In the gunbattle with terrorists on Wednesday, a senior police officer, a Colonel, and a Major from the Army all died.

To find the terrorists, security personnel have sealed off the Kokernag woodland region in Anantnag and begun a search operation. Since the operation started on Wednesday, over 48 hours have passed, and 4 officials have died.

As the search effort is in progress, Friday morning's blasts and intense shooting continued throughout the afternoon from the wooded region.

The other three slain officials are Major Ashish, DSP Humayun Bhat, and Colonel Manpreet Singh. The fourth soldier who perished today has not yet been identified.

On Friday morning, the corpses of Major Ashish Dhonchack and Colonel Manpreet Singh were delivered to their homes in Panipat. At his Budgam home, Deputy Superintendent Humayun Bhat was laid to rest on Wednesday. Following the engagement on Thursday, the dead were flown to Srinagar by the Indian Army. On Thursday night, a tribute was made to their lifeless remains.

According to officials, when the shooting started, the army was commanding the troops based on information from specialised intelligence and looking for terrorists in a hideaway. The terrorists opened fire, quickly killing the Colonel and wounded two other officers, who subsequently passed away in a Srinagar hospital.

According to reports, the terrorists are believed to be from "The Resistance Front", a Lashkar proxy. Security forces suspect two-three terrorists are hiding in the area. Heron drones and quadcopters have been deployed in the area to carry out surveillance and assist in the search operation, officials said.

Anti-Pakistan protests broke out on Thursday in several parts of Jammu city against the killing of four security personnel. The Panun Kashmir and the Eik Sanatam Bharat Dal (ESBD) paid homage to the personnel and demanded a massive operation against the terrorist ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir.