As a fierce gun battle between security forces and militants continued for the fifth day in the frontier Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor said the operation was taking time as the army wanted to minimize its own casualties.

"The operation is very much on. We are trying to ensure that we do not suffer any casualty," Kapoor said on the sidelines of a function here. Two army men were killed on Thursday while laying a cordon around the Pati Tar mountainous forest near Mendhar where the terrorists are hiding.