Massive cordon-and-search ops in Pulwama

Srinagar, Sep 22: Government forces Saturday launched a massive cordon and search operation in about a dozen villages in Pulwama.
The operation was carried out by 55-Rashtriya Rifles, 53 RR, 23 Para, Special Operation Group (SOG) and CRPF’s 182, 183 battalions.
Launched during wee hours, the CASO saw forces conducting house to house searches in the villages, reports said.
The search operations were conducted in villages Lassipora, Armula, Alaipora, Batnoor, Garbug, Naupora Paeen, Hajdar Pora, Acchan and many others.
It was not immediately known if the operation launched to flush out any militants or whether it was purely an ‘area domination’ exercise.
Meanwhile, the residents of a village in Shopian district on Saturday clashed with the government forces after they launched a cordon-and-search-operation in the area.
Reports said that the government forces laid a siege around the Shirmal village early Saturday morning.
As the forces started door-to-door searches, scores of residents came out of their homes and pelted them with stones to disrupt the operation.
The forces, according to reports, fired tear gas to quell the protests.
Saturday’s CASOs was launched a day after suspected militants abducted and killed three cops in Shopian.