After night halt, anti-terrorist operation resumed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua

After halting for the night, search parties moved from different directions with the first light of the day, with the primary focus on retrieving the bodies of the deceased, finding a missing policeman and neutralising any other threat, officials said.

Jammu: Security forces on Friday resumed an anti-terrorist operation in a remote forested area in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, a day after three terrorists and an equal number of policemen were killed in an encounter there, officials said.

Seven others, including an officer, were injured in a gunbattle on Thursday.

After halting for the night, search parties moved from different directions with the first light of the day, with the primary focus on retrieving the bodies of the deceased, finding a missing policeman and neutralising any other threat, they said.

They said security forces are moving cautiously to the targeted area but there was no response from the terrorist side and it is believed that all of them are dead.

However, only three bodies of the terrorists could be sighted through drones and the fate of two others remains unknown.

The operation, centred near Jakhole village in the Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh, against the terrorists started around 8 am on Thursday amid intensified operations led by police against a group of suspected Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) ultras who had recently infiltrated from across the International Border in Hiranagar sector, the officials said.

However, it was not immediately clear whether it was the same group that had been evading an earlier cordon in Sanyal forest of Hiranagar or another batch of infiltrated terrorists.

Three terrorists were killed in the onslaught led by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and assisted by the Army and CRPF.

Adding to the tension, five police personnel, including a Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), were reportedly trapped near the gunfight's location, adjacent to a rivulet concealed by dense foliage.

However, the SDPO -- a DSP rank officer -- was evacuated in an injured condition from the scene late this evening, while three of his personal security officers were found dead and another policeman was still to be located.

Besides the SDPO, three more policemen were admitted to Kathua hospital and their condition was stated to be “stable”. Two army personnel were also injured in the operation.

Earlier, a group of terrorists was intercepted on Sunday evening within a 'dhok', a local term for an enclosure in a nursery, in Sanyal village near the International Border with Pakistan in the Hiranagar sector.

A subsequent search operation, involving the police, army, NSG, BSF and CRPF, utilised advanced technical and surveillance equipment to track down and neutralize the terrorists.

Despite the massive search operation, the terrorists managed to escape the initial cordon, the officials said, adding it is assumed that the same group could have been possibly spotted near Jakhole, approximately 30 km from the initial encounter site.

The search teams discovered evidence on Monday, including four loaded magazines of M4 carbine, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits, food packets, and materials for constructing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near the Hiranagar encounter site.

The terrorists were moving through the forest area towards the Billawar side when a police party headed by a SDPO moved in after getting specific information but came under heavy firing, resulting in the day-long gunfight.

Reinforcements from the police, army, and CRPF were immediately deployed to the area, while the special forces of the army were also airdropped to neutralise the terrorists.

Police believe the terrorists infiltrated on Saturday, possibly via a ravine route or a newly constructed tunnel from across the border.

Director General of Police, Nalin Prabhat and Inspector General of Police (Jammu Zone) Bhim Sen Tuti have been overseeing the anti-terrorist operation from Kathua for the past four days, the officials said.

The People's Anti-Fascist Front, a proxy outfit of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), claimed responsibility for the encounter.