Five police personnel were injured after a fresh gunfight erupted between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district on Thursday amid an ongoing massive anti-terror operation, now in its fourth day, officials said. Two terrorists were also gunned down during the encounter.
Sources told earlier that four to five terrorists were hiding in a densely forested area in Juthana, and security personnel traced the location of the hiding terrorists.
The firefight broke out near Jakhole village, approximately 30 km from Hiranagar sector, where an earlier gun battle took place on Sunday (March 23). Officials said reinforcements were rushed to the spot, and an exchange of fire between the two sides was ongoing when last reports were received.
The Army's special forces, which joined the counter-terrorism operation, were in action in Juthana. Jammu and Kashmir DGP Nalin Prabhat had rushed to the encounter site to oversee the operation.
The two injured personnel belonged to Jammu and Kashmir Police's Special Operation Group (SOG) and were rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital in Kathua for treatment. Sources told that both the personnel are now in stable condition.
Security agencies believe the terrorists involved in today's encounter are the same group that managed to escape after Sunday's gunfight in Hiranagar. That operation was launched by the SOG following intelligence inputs about their presence inside a 'dhok' - a small enclosure - in a nursery at Sanyal village, near the International Border with Pakistan.
The encounter lasted more than 30 minutes before the terrorists fled.
A large-scale search operation, involving police, the Army, NSG, BSF, and CRPF has been underway since March 22. Equipped with advanced surveillance technology, including UAVs, drones and bulletproof vehicles, the forces were combing the region to track down the infiltrators.
Officials suspect they crossed into Indian territory through a newly-dug tunnel or the ravine route from Pakistan.
The search effort was particularly intensified along routes leading to the Billawar forest, where security forces have successfully tracked the movement of the terrorists.
On Monday (March 24), teams recovered four loaded M4 carbine magazines, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits and multiple packets of food items. Additionally, polythene bags containing materials used for making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were found near the Hiranagar encounter site.
Source: India Today