Two terrorists have been killed and five security personnel injured in the ongoing gunfight in Ghati Juthana area in border district of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said a gunfight erupted between terrorists and security forces during a search operation near Jakhole village in the Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh in Kathua district.
“A group of five terrorists was intercepted by the security personnel. The terrorists fired on the search party. The fire was returned by the troops, triggering an encounter,” they said.
They said the exchange of gunfire between the two sides continued throughout the day.
“In the gunfight so far two terrorists have been killed and five security men including a DySP and SPO injured,” they said.
The injured security personnel have been hospitalised.
Additional troops have been rushed to the area and security men were using drones and helicopters for aerial surveillance to track down the movement of the hiding terrorists.
It is suspected that it is the same group of terrorists that was involved in a gunfight with security personnel in a nursery in Sanyal village near the International Border in Kathua on Sunday.
A subsequent massive search operation involving the police, army, NSG, BSF, and CRPF, utilised advanced technical and surveillance equipment, including helicopters, UAVs, drones, bulletproof vehicles, and sniffer dogs has been going on since then.
The search teams discovered 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.
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 search operation was carried out in multiple areas from Sanyal to Ding Amb and beyond, covering several kilometers.
Security agencies have questioned several persons in various areas and picked up three suspects for questioning, the officials said.
The International Border between India and Pakistan is situated in the district, and in the past, terrorists have attempted to sneak into the Indian side over the border.
Recently in Kathua, three civilians — Darshan Singh, 40, Yogesh Singh, 32, and Varun Singh, 14 — went missing on March 5 while returning from a wedding in Marhoon village.
Their bodies were discovered on March 8 near a waterfall on the edge of an escarpment in a wooded area following an extensive search involving the Army, police, drones, and sniffer dogs.
Security has been tightened along the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway in the Samba-Kathua section, with increased vigilance on border roads, officials said.