Encounter breaks out in J&K's Kathua, security forces launch search operation

NEW DELHI: A fresh encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in Kathua district on Thursday, injuring one police personnel, the Jammu & Kashmir Police said.
The gunfight broke out on Thursday morning when security forces spotted terrorists near Jakhole village in Ghati Juthana, Rajbagh. This location is around 30 km from Hiranagar sector, where an encounter took place on Sunday. Officials said additional forces were sent, and an exchange of fire was ongoing when the last reports came in.

The terrorists are believed to be from the same group that escaped after a gunbattle in Hiranagar on Sunday evening. That encounter began when a Special Operations Group (SOG) of the police received intelligence about the presence of terrorists inside a ‘dhok,’ an enclosure in a nursery in Sanyal village near the International Border. The gunfight lasted for more than half an hour before the terrorists managed to escape.
Since then, a large search operation has been underway involving police, the army, NSG, BSF, and CRPF. Security forces have been using surveillance technology, helicopters, UAVs, drones, bulletproof vehicles, and sniffer dogs to track the terrorists. Officials suspect that the group infiltrated on Saturday, either through a ravine route or a newly created tunnel along the border.
Forces expanded their search efforts, especially in routes leading to Billawar forest, and eventually located the terrorists.
On Monday, security personnel recovered several items from the site of the Hiranagar encounter. These included four loaded M4 carbine magazines, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits, and food packets. They also found separate polythene bags containing materials that could be used to make Improvised Explosive Devices.