Security Forces in Jammu and Kashmir have launched a fresh offensive on the second day of the operation on Tuesday to flush out the militants hiding inside the the Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) complex at Pampore.
Loud explosions were heard till 1am in the night and again at 5:30am on Tuesday as security forces stepped up the counter-attack against an unconfirmed number of militants, who entered JKEDI complex on Monday. It appears that the Indian army is attacking the militants with heavy arms, hoping to either kill them or flush them out of the building.
An Indian Army official said the area around the JKEDI premises has been cordoned off and exchange of fire was going on.
On Monday, security forces lit up the complex to stop the militants from fleeing under the cover of darkness. A police officer said on Monday the militants were changing their positions constantly and security forces had earlier fired rockets and used light machine guns to locate them.
This is the second time the JKEDI complex, which trains and finances young men and women to be entrepreneurs, has been attacked this year. A three-day encounter in February left seven people, including three army commandos, dead.
Sources said on Monday that militants were holed up on the sixth and seventh floors of the hostel building and used furniture as barricades against the army. The institute, situated on a strategic arterial road connecting Jammu and Srinagar, covers a 3.5-acre land on the Jhelum. The militants could have entered the complex from the riverside but that can only be ascertained once the operation is over.
After entering the complex, the militants set on fire a few mattresses inside a hostel room to attract the attention of the police and other security forces, who arrived within minutes of the smoke emanating from the building.
There were no students in the building when the attack began as classes remain suspended due to the ongoing unrest, which is in its fourth month, in the Kashmir valley. A few cooks, who were inside the building, were evacuated.
One soldier was injured in the encounter, the latest in a string of attacks in the border state in the last few weeks.
Sourced from agensies, Featured image courtesy: timesofinfo.com
