Security personnel engaged in Operation Akhal in the Akhal forest area of Kulgam district, Jammu and Kashmir (PTI)
After the joint team of forces sealed off Akhal village in Kulgam on Friday, officials reported that sporadic gunfire exchanges between terrorists and security forces personnel persisted on Sunday.
According to officials, a group of four to five militants are said to be trapped in the area by the Army and police. On the first day of the gunfight, one militant was killed.
Later, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated in Parliament that the terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed the lives of 25 visitors and a local pony ride in the Baisaran meadow, was carried out by the militants slain in that battle. Tensions between India and Pakistan increased as a result of the incident, which was widely denounced. Additionally, it resulted in a more vigorous crackdown on Kashmiri militancy.
The counter-terrorism operation named Akhal has entered its third day in the Akhal forest area of Kulgam district, South Kashmir. Launched on Friday evening, the operation began with a cordon-and-search operation conducted by a joint team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Indian Army, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). This followed after specific inputs indicated the presence of terrorists in that area.
As the operation was continuing, the terrorists began firing on the security forces, escalating the operation to that of an encounter. Following the initial exchange of fire, the operation was called off for the night and resumed the following morning. By the end of the day, three terrorists had been neutralized, with one soldier sustaining injuries. Intermittent gunfire and explosions were ongoing during the Sunday morning period. As per the latest reports, the count of the total terrorists killed so far swelled to six.
After receiving information on the presence of militants in the area, a combined team of the Army, the Jammu and Kashmir Police, and paramilitary forces sealed off Akhal hamlet in south Kashmir on Friday evening. According to police, a shootout broke out as terrorists opened fire as the combined force focused on the target area.
Operation Akhal is a major counter-terrorism effort in the region this year. The forest environment, which is a thickly wooded terrain, presents its own unique set of challenges for the security forces, which, along with the conventional methods, are utilizing newer techniques, such as drones for tracking and neutralizing the terrorist targets. Due to the scope of the operation and the fact that it is now in its twentieth-sixth hour, national attention has been drawn to the operation.
The identity and affiliations of the slain terrorists are still being established. The security institutions have stressed the importance of operational secrecy and, at this stage, have not divulged further details.
