Search for terrorists intensifies in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri after encounter, more troops deployed

Officials said the operation in the Dorimal-Gambhir Moghla belt was expanded following a brief encounter between the security forces and the terrorists during an intelligence-based operation on Saturday.

Jammu: Security forces on Sunday intensified search operations and strengthened the cordon in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district with the deployment of additional troops to track down suspected terrorists believed to be hiding in the area, officials said.

They said the operation in the Dorimal-Gambhir Moghla belt was expanded following a brief encounter between the security forces and the terrorists during an intelligence-based operation on Saturday.

"Search operations have been intensified in the Dorimal-Gambhir Moghla area and the cordon has been strengthened," the officials said.

Additional security personnel have been rushed to the area to assist in the search for the suspected terrorists, they said.

A joint team of Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had launched a massive cordon-and-search operation in the area on Saturday following specific inputs about the movement of suspected terrorists.

The operation led to a brief exchange of fire after contact was established with the suspected terrorists, prompting the security forces to continue extensive searches in the forested terrain.

According to preliminary reports, the movement of two to three terrorists was suspected in the area.

The security forces also launched a search operation in the Gudha Brahmana area of Akhnoor in Jammu district after receiving information about suspicious movement.

The officials said that a local woman informed the security personnel that she had seen three to four masked persons near her house whose activities appeared suspicious.

Acting on the information, the security forces rushed to the area, cordoned off nearby villages and launched searches to verify the inputs and trace the suspects.