Two soldiers missing amid anti-terrorist operation in J&K, search hit by bad weather (Lead)

Srinagar, Oct 8 (IANS) Two soldiers went missing during an anti-terrorist operation in the Kokernag area of J&K’s Anantnag district, and an intensive search underway to locate them has been hampered by bad weather, the Indian Army said on Wednesday.

The two army personnel went out of contact with their team in the higher reaches of the Kokernag area during the operation.

"On the intervening night of 6/7 Oct an operational team on Kishtwar range confronted a severe snow storm and white out conditions in the mountains of South Kashmir. Since then, two soldiers have gone out of communication. Intense Search and Rescue operations have been launched but hampered due to prevailing adverse weather conditions," the Srinagar-headquartered Chinar Corps said in a post on its X handle.

Earlier, an official source said that a massive search had been launched in the dense forest area to trace the soldiers, who may have lost contact with their team due to the inclement weather that prevailed over the area during the last two days.

"The two soldiers might have strayed from their team because of poor visibility and difficult terrain caused by recent snowfall," the source said.

The soldiers were part of a small team that had launched a cordon and search operation (CASO) in the area on Tuesday.

Since then, communication with them has not been established. Helicopters had also been pressed into service to assist ground troops in the search efforts.

"The operation to trace the two soldiers is going on with the army, other security forces, and the local police combing the forests to locate them," the source added.

Joint forces, including the army, other security forces and J&K Police, have been carrying out aggressive anti-terrorist operations against terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers in order to dismantle the entire ecosystem of terror in the UT.

The security agencies, both of the Centre and the UT, have been attaching properties of terrorists, their OGWs and sympathisers, in addition to those involved in drug smuggling and drug peddling.

The security forces believe that the funds generated by drug smuggling and hawala money rackets are finally used to sustain terrorism in J&K.

The local police, its Crime Branch, the State Investigation Agency (SIA), the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have been carrying out specific operations against terror operatives involved in economic offences, etc.

--IANS

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