Security forces likely to launch special operation in Jammu region to counter new wave of terror

Way back in 2003, Army had conducted Operation ‘Sarp Vinash’ in Hikaka forests above Surankot to counter a similar threat, leading to the killing of several terrorists.

File photo of Army personnel carrying weapons and equipment near an encounter site in Doda district I PTI

New Delhi: Security forces are set to launch a special operation to weed out a group of about 40-50 terrorists in the dense forested areas of Jammu region’s Rajouri-Poonch and Doda-Bhaderwah region where they have managed to infiltrate into and operating with brazenness, ThePrint has learnt.

While sources in the defence and security establishment refused to put a name to the operation as of now or divulge the scale, they said that it is an ongoing process.

“Our forces are out on operations everyday. So, you could say we are already in operations. But a larger more coordinated operation across sectors is the need of the hour and is being worked out,” one of the sources said.

The operation would last several weeks, the sources said.

They added that while the troops are currently doing jungle bashing (entering heavy forested areas to locate terrorists), they said that a full scale operation would ensure a sweep-like operation.

This means that troops will sweep through the areas in a coordinated manner while covering exits to ensure that terrorists are eventually caught on.

Way back in 2003, Army had conducted Operation ‘Sarp Vinash’ at Hill Kaka above Surankot to counter a similar threat, leading to the killing of several terrorists.

The long spell of peace in Jammu since then has been broken from 2020 with terrorists carrying out attacks, the frequency and scale of which has increased over the last year and half.

As reported by ThePrint, about 40 terrorists, mostly from Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and well-trained with Army-like tactics, had managed to infiltrate into the Jammu region over the last one year and joined in with those already present. 

What operation would entail 

The sources said that besides the existing troops operating in the region, the Army has in the last few months ramped up presence by nearly a Division of troops drawn in from various reserve formations of both the Northern and the Western Commands.

Besides the regular troops, multiple units of the Special Forces have also been brought in.

The Srinagar-based 15 Corps is also likely to be brought into the operation to seal off escape routes of the terrorists.

This, the sources said, was because the Pir Panjal range spans the Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu, contiguous to Kulgam and Anantnag in Kashmir.

Known as Pir Panjal, the cluster of lower mountains in the Western Himalayas, extends from the Nilam River in western Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, through southwestern Jammu and Kashmir, to the upper Beas river in Himachal Pradesh. In Jammu, it stretches from Poonch in the west to Doda in the east. 

Terrorists can easily undertake a three-day trek through the Pir Panjal passes and ridges in Rajouri district into Kokernag in Anantnag on the Kashmir side, the sources said. Similarly, Shopian and Uri can be easily reached through Poonch. 

The terrorists have managed to cause the death of at least 51 security personnel in the Jammu region since 2021 with increasing barbarity and frequency.

(Edited by Tony Rai)