SRINAGAR: With the recovery of two additional bodies, a total of seven bodies have now been retrieved from the Gadool encounter site in the Kokernag hamlet of Anantnag district.

Officials informed the news agency KS that ADGP Vijay Kumar and GOC Victor Force, on Tuesday visited the location to personally oversee the ongoing encounter.

Official sources have reported that seven bodies have been recovered thus far, including two that are unidentifiable. Authorities plan to conduct DNA sampling on these two bodies to ascertain their possible affiliation with terrorists.

Notably, during the initial exchange of fire on Wednesday, Colonel Manpreet Singh, who served as the commanding officer of 19 RR, Major Aashish Dhonchak, and DySP Humayun Bhat, the son of former DIG Kashmir Ghulam Muhammad Bhat, lost their lives.

On Friday, the body of a soldier who had been missing since Wednesday’s gunfight with militants was discovered at the encounter site.

On Sunday, an unrecognizable charred body was recovered from the scene, while on Monday, two more bodies were found, one identified as soldier Pardeep, and the other remaining unidentified.

A combing operation is currently underway, and further details will be provided at a later time, according to sources.