Kathua attacks: Combing operation under way after gunfire between hiding terrorists, security forces

Jammu: A seek and destroy operation to track down three terrorists, believed to be hiding in a forested area in Panjthirthi-Barota in Kathua following an encounter last night, resumed Thursday with multiple agencies engaged in the effort, officials said.

The area was placed under a cordon after the Monday night gunfire between police and terrorists.

The officials said the three terrorists are believed to be from a group that had its first face-off with security forces in the Nursery area near the International Border on March 23. All of the terrorists had managed to escape.

Four days later, security forces engaged them in an encounter in a forest area of the Sanyal belt of Kathua when two terrorists were eliminated, and the rest managed to flee. During this exchange of fire, four policemen were also killed and three others injured.

With the hiding terrorists changing their locations in the jungle, the security forces have launched a multi-agency operation to track them down.

The search operation was intensified early on Monday morning with aerial surveillance and sniffer dogs being deployed, culminating into a fresh encounter in the night. A night cordon was laid to ensure that the three terrorists holed-up in the forests do not escape, sources said late on Monday.

The operation to track and eliminate the terrorists resumed Thursday with officials saying security has been reinforced in the area to strengthen the cordon and prevent the ultras from escaping "Search and destroy operations were launched at first light on Tuesday morning.  Operations in progress", the Army's rising star corps said on its X handle.

"Acting on intelligence inputs, multiple surveillance-cum-ambushes were deployed in general area Panjtirthi Kathua by Indian Army, Police and CRPF. Suspicious movement was observed on the night of 31 March, leading to an exchange of fire," it added.

On Monday, the operation -- by a team of officers from the Army, Police, NSG, CRPF, and BSF -- was carried out in the forested belts of Rui, Juthana, Ghati, and Sanyal in the Rajbagh region, as well as parts of Billawar, officials said.

The night before, three suspicious persons dressed in black robes and carrying bags had entered the house of a villager, named Shanker, in Rui village and asked a lone elderly woman for water.

Before fleeing, they barged into her kitchen and took away 'rotis' and 'sabzi'. They also tried to give her two Rs 500 notes before escaping. She refused.

Security agencies say it is difficult for terrorists to survive without a network of overground workers (OGWs) who provide them with food, shelter, and guidance.

The forces have picked up six persons, including some women from one family, for questioning, as it is alleged they provided assistance to terrorists operating in the region, the officials said.

The detained individuals allegedly belong to the family of suspected overground worker (OGW) Mohammad Latief, who is already in jail under the Public Safety Act (PSA), for aiding terrorists in Malhar during an attack on an Army truck last year, in which six soldiers lost their lives.

The slain terrorist Abu Tala is also believed to have stayed at Latief's house.