New Delhi: The seven-day operation in the thick jungles of Kokernag in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district was called off Tuesday with the killing of at least three terrorists affiliated with Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), but questions remain about the need for a change in counter-terrorism tactics deployed by security forces.
While security forces identified one of the terrorists killed in the operation as Uzair Khan — designated a category ‘C’ terrorist — the identities of the other two terrorists have not been ascertained, with security forces yet to recover the third body.
Four personnel, including Colonel Manpreet Singh, commanding officer of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles, his company commander Major Ashish Dhonchak and Humayun Bhat, the young deputy superintendent attached with J&K Police’s elite counter-terrorism unit, lost their lives in the operation.
Sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that prior to this operation, there were 16 local terrorists active in the Kulgam and Anantnag area, besides 12 Pakistani terrorists. Most of these terrorists have been active in this area since 2017, which means that they have managed to evade security forces all these years.
The said terrorists, it is learnt, are affiliated with terror groups Hizbul Mujahideen, LeT and the Jaish-e-Mohammed.
The main target for security forces in the area, said sources, is Zubair Ahmed Wani, also known as ‘Doctor’. A Hizbul commander who was trained in Pakistan, Wani hails from Anantnag and was given the alias ‘Doctor’ since he is an M.Phil. scholar.
Also Read: Why Pir Panjal region is becoming a militant hotspot— porous LoC, routes to Kashmir, ‘local support’
‘Can’t launch drones each time’
On the Kokernag operation, it is learnt that authorities will look into the tragic turn of events as is due process. The exact sequence of events will be known in due time, said sources, adding that the outcome of this operation has led to a larger discussion within the defence establishment about counter-terrorism tactics.
Asked why a drone was not deployed in the initial stages of the operation, sources said the idea was to carry out a combing operation on foot since drones operated by battalions would have alerted the terrorists.
The Army had, after initial setbacks, called in multiple assets during the Kokernag operation including Israeli-made Heron drones and other UAVs capable of carrying out punitive actions to assist security forces.
“In Kashmir, an operation is launched almost every hour at different locations based on intelligence and otherwise. In most cases, security forces return without establishing any contact (with terrorists). So you can’t be launching high-altitude surveillance drones every time an operation is launched,” said one source.
Furthermore, sources in the defence and security establishment said the Army has a tradition of officers leading from the front in any operation but admitted that this does not translate into any existing protocol requiring the commanding officer to be at the forefront.
“The CO is the fulcrum of any battalion and any operation undertaken by the unit. He takes care of all coordination, tactics and logistics, depending on the requirement. Details of how the CO, the DySP and the Major were hit together in the initial stages will be looked into, but it is not surprising that he (Colonel Singh) wanted to stage himself as much forward as possible before the encounter started,” said a second source.
ThePrint had reported earlier how the operation in Kokernag, based on specific intelligence, went haywire. The joint team (Army and police) lost the element of surprise after they were spotted by the terrorists, who opened a volley of fire at them using assault rifles.
Colonel Singh, who was in the front, was shot, as were the Major and the DySP. More soldiers were hit, but the commanding officer was fatally injured. They could not be evacuated in time since choppers were unable to land at the site amid the firefight. The terrorists, it is learnt, also opened fire at the chopper.
Incidentally, the DySp managed to initiate a video call with his father, a retired Inspector General of the J&K Police, who tried to direct him to hide and how to stop the bleeding.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Terror as family business? Why Kokernag ambush may have roots in India’s war against Lashkar