A jailed Pakistani militant, who was brought to the forest for identification of the hideout, was also injured in the cross-firing, Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Sunday, adding that he could not be taken out from the site due to heavy firing.
The policemen and Army personnel were injured when they came under attack while they were taking Zia Mustafa, a Pakistan-based militant belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, to the forest area to locate a militant hideout in Bhata Durian. It is here that three Army jawans and a junior commissioner officer were killed on October 14.
“During the search, when the team approached the hideout, the militants started firing at them. Mustafa had sustained injuries but could not be extracted from the site due to heavy firing from the other side,” sources said.
The operation, which saw nine Army personnel losing their live in separate ambushes in Surankote and Mendhar on October 11 and 14, entered the 14th day on Sunday.