The northern army commander Lt General Upendra Dwivedi Friday said that slain militants in the Rajouri encounter seem have been trained in Afghanistan and other countries and their killing was a major setback to “militancy and its eco-system” in the Rajouri-Poonch area.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a wreath-laying ceremony of fallen soldiers including two captains in Jammu, the northern army commander Lt General Upendra Dwivedi said that the two slain militants were highly trained. “It seems that they were trained in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other countries,” he said as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
He said that the supreme sacrifices made by five army soldiers including two captains had raised the morale of the troops and all are committed to eliminating the militants from J-K soil.
Asked about the number of militants active in Peer Panjal range, the army officer said that the killing of two highly trained militants in a Rajouri gunfight has resulted in a major setback to militants and the ecosystem in the region. “The number of militants operating in the area may vary as Poonch and Rajouri are connected with the highway. At least 20 to 25 militants are still operating in the area and with the help of active support of police and human intelligence, we will be able to root out the militancy within a year from the region,” he said. On Thursday, the army killed two militants in the Rajouri encounter and identified one of the slain as the top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Qari of Pakistan. The army said slain Qari was an IED expert and a sniper trained to hide in caves and forests.
Meanwhile, LG Manoj Sinha and DGP RR Swain paid floral tributes to the fallen soldiers—(KNO)