Srinagar: Two terrorists were eliminated in a gunfight on Thursday as a fresh encounter broke out in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kathua district, where India’s security forces have been engaged in a major operation for four days.
Five policepersons were injured in the encounter, three of whom are in serious condition.
The gunfight started after security personnel, who have been searching for militants day in and day out, spotted the terrorists near Jakhole village in Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh, around 30 km from the scene of Sunday’s encounter in Hiranagar sector.
PTI quoted officials as saying that reinforcements were rushed to the area and the two sides exchanged fire till early evening. The same group of militants are said to be engaged in a gunbattle that took on security forces on Sunday, resulting in the injury of a minor girl.
Police, the Army, NSG, BSF and CRPF, armed with technical and surveillance equipment and supported by helicopters, UAVs, drones, bulletproof vehicles and sniffer dogs, are in the midst of a massive search operation which entered the fourth day to hunt down the terrorists who infiltrated on Saturday either via the ravine route or through a new tunnel from across the border.
The exact number of militants is not known, but the search operations heads believe some of them are still around.
Over the last year or so, Kathua has emerged as a major infiltrating route for Pakistan-based terrorists to reach Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar districts.
