A Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist, who was being tracked for a year, was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district on Thursday. A search operation is underway to find and kill the three other JeM terrorists.
The three terrorists are said to be holed up in the higher reaches of Basantgarh amid inclement weather.
The gunbattle broke out when a joint search party of the army and police launched a search operation, based on specific intelligence, in Basantgarh this morning. Reinforcements have been rushed in to the spot.
“Contact was established with the terrorists around 8.30 am. There are believed to be four terrorists and we have been tracking (this group) for the last one year,” Inspector General of Police, Jammu range, Bhim Sen Tuti, told reporters on the sidelines of a function.
He said a search operation was going on despite foggy conditions and the real picture would emerge once the weather improves.
Officials added that the trapped terrorists are members of the Pakistan-based JeM and were found hiding near Karoor nallah by the joint search party led by the army's para commandos.
Earlier in the morning, Jammu-based White Knight Corps of Army said in a post on X, “Based on specific intelligence, a joint operation was launched by Indian Army and J&K Police in the Bihali area of Basantgarh. Contact has been established with terrorists. The operation is currently in progress.”
The operation, codenamed Operation Bihali, came a week ahead of the start of the annual Amarnath Yatra in the Kashmir Himalayas.
Besides, security forces conducted a search operation in the Purmandal area of Samba district late on Wednesday following reports of suspicious activity. However, the operation concluded peacefully after nothing was found on the ground, officials said.
Source: ANI