Sources said that on September 27, Army men spotted a group of militants walking along the Gangabal lake. (File Photo)Over the last 15 days, several hundred soldiers, assisted by para commandos, have been combing the forests of Gangabal, a mountainous terrain bordering Gurez sector on the Line of Control (LoC), searching for militants who may have escaped a gunfight on September 27.
Sources said that on September 27, Army men spotted a group of militants walking along the Gangabal lake. When challenged, the militants, believed to be part of a group that infiltrated the Valley through Gurez sector, opened fire. In the encounter that followed, a militant was killed while at least two of his associates managed to escape. Two days later, the Army spotted another militant, who was killed in a brief shootout.
A week after the encounter, police said, a family from Warpora village in Sopore claimed that one of the militants killed in the encounter was their son Qamar-ud-din War. According to police records, War crossed the LoC on a Pakistani passport more than a year ago.
“The family approached us and when we showed them pictures of the body, they recognised him,” said a police official in Kangan in Ganderbal district. “We are waiting for the DNA report before we go ahead.”
Every summer, hundreds of trekkers take a high mountainous mule track that goes through thick forests and barren plains to reach Gangabal, a famous fresh water lake in the foothills of…
