Poonch encounter rages for seventh day, 9 soldiers lost their life: 7 top updates

Two more soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), were killed as the massive search operation to track down militants continued for the sixth day in the forest areas of Jammu and Kashmir's twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri on Saturday, officials said.

With the latest killings, a total of nine Army personnel, including two JCOs, have laid down their lives in the ongoing counter-insurgency operation that began in Surankote forests of Poonch on Monday and later spread to nearby Thanamandi in Rajouri and Mendhar in Poonch.

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Earlier on October 11, five Army personnel, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), were killed when militant attacked a search party in Poonch's Surankote forest. There was another exchange of fire between the Army’s search parties and the fleeing militants in the adjoining Thanamandi forest in Rajouri the same day but the ultras managed their escape.

“The presence of militants in the forest area connecting Poonch and Rajouri was observed two and a half months ago and accordingly tactical operations were launched to track them down,” Deputy Inspector General of Police, Rajouri-Poonch range, Vivek Gupta told reporters.

He said the area is mountainous and the forest is dense, which makes the operation difficult and dangerous.

Also watch: Poonch encounter: Army releases pictures of slain soldiers, report says officer's body not retrieved yet

The Army has already deployed para-commandos and a helicopter was also seen hovering over the forest area to keep surveillance, the officials said.

They said the traffic between Mendhar and Thanamandi along the Jammu-Rajouri highway remained suspended for the second day in the wake of the ongoing operation.

Rajouri and Poonch in the Jammu region have witnessed a rise in infiltration attempts since June this year, resulting in the killing of nine militants in separate encounters.