Security forces gear up for frontal assaults after month-long suspension of ops

After the month-long suspension of operations, the security forces have started gearing up for major offensive against terrorists operating in the Kashmir valley.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has landed in Kashmir to review the security situation in the state after the suspension of combat operations during Ramadan. Union government's special representative to Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, too arrived in Kashmir to make a renewed push for peace talks. He is trying to lay the grounds for holding talks with Hurriyat leaders, sources said.

There were 61 terror attacks during the month Ramadan, and as many as nine security personnel, including four from the Army, were killed. Six civilians were also murdered during the same period. In the counter-infiltration operations during Ramadan, security forces gunned down 24 militants.

'Operation All Out', designed to flesh out militants, is expected to yield further results in the coming days as there has been some concrete intelligence inputs from the local police, according to a senior defence official.

On day one of revoking of suspension of combat operations, two militants were killed in Bandipora sector on Monday morning, while another operation is on in the south Kashmir area.

Army sources believe that the month-long suspension of operations has given sufficient time for militants to regroup and rearm. "Army has killed at least 22 infiltrators on the Line of Control in last one month and suspect that an equal number of infiltrators may have sneaked into the hinterland. It is alarming," said a source, while adding that from now on, focus will be on exerting pressure on terror infrastructure to ensure that they (militants) are not able hold on in one area for long.

The Army will now begin its cordon and search operations (CASOs). Such operations, which are based on concrete intelligence outputs, have been the backbone of anti-militancy operations by security agencies.

Security forces are also worried about terror strikes in Srinagar. There hasn't been any strikes in Srinagar for the past seven to eight months. According to the senior defence official, Srinagar used to witness a large number of terror attacks til 2010-11. “The focus shifted to south Kashmir later. But now, terrorists are not afraid to strike in Srinagar, which is certainly a cause of concern for the security agencies," the officer added.

Meanwhile, security agencies have made elaborate arrangements for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra as they fear security threat to the pilgrimage. While the Army has deployed its two battalions in the 398km stretch starting from Jammu to the holy cave, 200 additional companies of para-military forces have also been deployed in the area to provide three-tier security grid to the yatra.

"Pro-active approach will be adopted in the restive districts of south Kashmir to build pressure on the terrorists to make them on the run," the officer further said.

On Sunday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had tweeted: “Security forces are being directed to take all necessary actions as earlier to prevent terrorists from launching attacks and indulging in violence and killings. The government will continue with its endeavour to create an environment free of terror and violence in Jammu and Kashmir.”