Kathua encounter: The gunfight erupted this morning when the security forces spotted the terrorists near Jakhole village in Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh, some 30 km from the scene of Sunday’s encounter in Hiranagar sector.Kathua encounter:A police officer was injured on Thursday in a fresh exchange of gunfire with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, where a large-scale anti-terror operation has been ongoing for the past four days, officials said. The encounter broke out this morning after security forces spotted the terrorists near Jakhole village in the Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh, approximately 30 km from the site of Sunday’s encounter in the Hiranagar sector. Officials said that reinforcements were deployed, and an exchange of fire was still underway when the last reports were received.
Terrorists likely to be of same group that escaped The terrorists are suspected to be part of the same group that managed to escape from the Hiranagar sector after a gunbattle lasting over half an hour on Sunday evening. The encounter began on Sunday when a Special Operations Group (SOG) of the police launched an operation based on intelligence inputs about their presence inside a dhok, a local term for an enclosure in a nursery, located in Sanyal village near the International Border with Pakistan, officials said. A massive search operation involving the police, army, NSG, BSF, and CRPF armed with technical and surveillance equipment and supported by helicopter, UAVs, drones, bulletproof vehicles, and sniffer dogs continued to track down the terrorists, who are believed to have infiltrated on Saturday via either the ravine route or through a newly created tunnel from across the border. The security forces extended the search operation, particularly the routes leading tothe Billawar forest and were successful in tracking down the terrorists, the officials said.
Security forces had found loaded magazines of M4 carbine Earlier on Monday, the search parties had found four loaded magazines of M4 carbine, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits, several packets of eatables, and separate polythene bags containing material for making Improvised Explosive Devices near the scene of the encounter in Hiranagar. Director General of Police, Nalin Prabhat, was camping in Kathua and was seen leading the anti-terrorist operation along with Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, Bhim Sen Tuti over the past four days.
