On the second consecutive day, a massive search and combing operation was underway in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district after a group of terrorists was spotted and a brief encounter took place on Wednesday evening.
The operation continued on Thursday to track down the same group of two terrorists hiding in a forested area of the district, which has witnessed a surge in terror activities over the past couple of years.
The search operation follows an encounter that broke out between terrorists and security forces in the densely forested Kanzal Mandu area of the Kuchal-Chatroo belt on Wednesday night.
Reports said that in addition to deploying more personnel, the security forces have also pressed drones and sniffer dogs into service to locate the terrorists.
As reported earlier, the encounter started when the police, assisted by the Army and CRPF, launched a cordon and search operation in the Kuchal area of Chatroo on Wednesday evening following inputs about the presence of terrorists.
A defence spokesperson said on Wednesday, "Based on specific intelligence, a joint search operation was underway in the Kanzal Mandu area of Kishtwar."
He added that contact had been established with the terrorists, and the operation was ongoing.
The encounter began when security forces launched a search and cordon operation in the Kanzal Mandu area of Chatroo following confirmed information about the presence of terrorists.
Officials said the terrorists opened fire upon noticing the security personnel, triggering a gunfight that was still ongoing at the time of the last reports.
Reinforcements were rushed to the area to tighten the cordon and neutralize the terrorists.
Kishtwar witnessing recurrent encounters with terrorists
The mountainous Kishtwar district, which borders South Kashmir, has been witnessing terror-related incidents at regular intervals.
On May 22 this year, at least two terrorists were gunned down after an encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces in the Chatroo area of Kishtwar. One soldier also lost his life in the line of duty. The gunfight erupted after the terrorists, hiding at a suspected location, opened fire on the troops.
On April 11, three terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Chatroo area of Kishtwar. A huge cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered from the site. The gunfight broke out after security forces noticed suspicious movement in the forested area.
On November 8, 2024, terrorists kidnapped and killed two Village Defence Group (VDG) members in the district. An offshoot of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist outfit, calling itself the "Kashmir Tigers," claimed responsibility for the attack and released images of the victims with their eyes blindfolded.
The slain VDG members were identified as Nazir Ahmed and Kuldeep Kumar, both residents of Ohli Kuntwara village in Kishtwar. According to officials, the two had gone into the forest to graze their cattle when they were abducted by terrorists.
On September 13, 2024, two soldiers were killed and two others injured in an encounter with terrorists in Kishtwar district.
