After 8 days,Army calls off Gurez op

Failing to track down the militants who had sneaked into the Gurez Valley from across the Line of Control last week.

Failing to track down the militants who had sneaked into the Gurez Valley from across the Line of Control last week,Army now says the operation has been called off.

The operation was called off by the Army on Thursday night, said defence spokesman Lt Col J S Brar,refusing to divulge reasons for abandoning the operation.

Last Thursday,a group,comprising 15-20 militants,was intercepted by troops in the forests of Gurez soon after they sneaked in.

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Sources said the group had reached close to the Bandipore forests and established contact with their local handlers before they were intercepted. However,a few of them gave the slip to the Army.

Sources said there were reports that either these militants were hiding in the forests of Bandipore or had reached Lolab Valley that lies close to Bandipore.

The police,too,had received some fresh inputs about the militant movement in the Lolab Valley and Bandipore forests. The police and Army were now trying to establish whether these militants were the ones who had sneaked into the Valley from Gurez,said sources.

Like in Kupwara,the Army had prior knowledge about the infiltration in Gurez sector.

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In Kupwara,after a five-day encounter,the Army had eliminated 18 militants. But this time,militants seem to have taken advantage of bad weather and fresh snowfall.

Gurez is one of the traditional routes used by militants to sneak into the Valley in spring.