JAMMU: Security forces shot dead an unidentified terrorist Friday during an ongoing operation in Kishtwar district of J&K’s Jammu region, while a simultaneous cordon-and-search for three terrorists holed up in a forest in Udhampur district’s Ramnagar tehsil is still to yield a breakthrough after three days.
The Army’s White Knight Corps confirmed the terrorist casualty in the Kishtwar operation, but didn’t provide details.
Both operations commenced Wednesday, weeks after the March 24 encounter in Kathua’s Sanyial area in which five Pakistani terrorists killed four policemen.
Officials reported five encounters in recent days — three in Kathua district, and one each in Udhampur and Kishtwar.
Security has been beefed up along the Jammu-Srinagar highway and all roads connecting the border villages.
Based on intelligence inputs, a search-and-destroy operation was launched jointly by the Army and J&K Police in Kishtwar’s Chatroo area Wednesday. Sensing the presence of troops near their hideout, the terrorists opened fire and a gun battle ensued. Despite hostile terrain and adverse weather conditions, the soldiers pressed hard with their anti-terror drive.
In Ramnagar, search operations continued for the third consecutive day in the Joffer forest area, backed up by helicopter and drone surveillance, even as sniffer dogs went in hot pursuit of suspected terror operatives holed up in the upper reaches of the four neighbouring districts of Kishtwar, Udhampur, Doda and Kathua.
According to officials, since March 23, security forces have eliminated three terrorists in multiple gun battles in the hilly terrains of Kathua-Udhampur-Kishtwar. While four police personnel also lost their lives, three policemen — including a deputy SP and a minor girl — were injured in the encounters.