On Saturday, five Indian security force personnel and two militants were killed after storming into a house in the Kashmiri town of Handwara, where the militants were holding hostages. A Srinagar-based army spokesman said that the deceased included two army officers, two soldiers, and one police sub-inspector.
Authorities started the investigation on Friday following information suggesting the presence of the rebels and hostages in the area. Locals reported the presence of two terrorists in the forest area for the last two weeks. The Army units had also received information about the likely presence of two to four armed terrorists in the region.
The 12-hour long operation was carried out by a five-member counterinsurgency team. However, there is no information about the number of hostages rescued. Vinay Kumar, Inspector General of the Police in the Kashmir range, has said that one of the two killed was a top officer of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist organization.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh offered their condolences and condemned the attack. Rajnath Singh tweeted, “The loss of our soldiers and security personnel Handwara (J&K) is deeply disturbing and painful. They showed exemplary courage in their fight against the terrorists and made supreme sacrifice while serving the country. We will never forget their bravery and sacrifice.”
India has often accused Pakistan of sponsoring the crisis in the region. Following the attack, the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party said that the incident exposed Pakistan’s intention to disrupt peace in the region. This incident will likely result in an increased military presence in the region and increase hostilities between the two nations.
After repeated skirmishes in Handwara, authorities imposed a weeklong curfew, which was only lifted on April 19. Despite this, the region continues to be volatile. Due to daily incidents of violence occurring in the region, India stepped up its counterinsurgency operations in the past few months.
Militant forces in the region have fought against the Indian state for decades, with multiple instances of Pakistan of arming and training them.
Image Source: Greater Kashmir
