Intelligence inputs suggest that only 10 militants may be holed up in the forest but the Army has been able to gun down only four of them after seven days of operations. They are yet to retrieve any bodies from the forest. Two Army soldiers were killed in the initial stages of the encounter after they came under fire from a ‘lookout’ detachment of the militants.

With daytime operations slowed down due to the fog and night operations limited due to the lack of enhanced vision devices, the Army has decided to adopt a cautious ‘no casualty’ approach to flush out the ultras.

Also hampering operations is the difficult terrain of the region. The jungle has a dense undergrowth and a thick pine tree cover that reduces visibility even when the sun is up. The presence of caves and undulating terrain, officers say, provides natural fortifications for the militants.

The operation being carried out by the Army stretches along an area of 2.5 sq km and several layers of cordons have been placed around the suspected militant base. The Army has also deployed helicopters in the region to drop in supplies and carry out surveillance missions.

So far, the Army has recovered a large amount of administrative stores, including food supplies, one rifle, two pistols, 10 hand grenades and several IEDs from the encounter site.

The terrorists are using cell phones and radios to communicate and intercepts indicate that four of them may have been killed by the Army.

... contd.