Jammu, Jan 8: Security forces on Thursday morning resumed a major search operation to track down terrorists hiding in a forest area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, a day after an encounter in which one security personnel sustained a minor injury.
Officials said the joint operation by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and other security forces was launched at Kahog village in the Billawar area on Wednesday evening following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists. The operation led to a brief gunfight before being suspended overnight due to darkness.
“The search operation to track down the hiding terrorists has been resumed after a night-long cordon,” a senior security official said, adding that searches are underway in the Dhanu Parole–Kamadh nallah area.
Additional forces have been deployed and aerial surveillance pressed into service to pin down the terrorists believed to be hiding in the dense forest. “Despite darkness, thick vegetation and treacherous terrain, the SOG is relentlessly engaging the terrorists. Teams of the CRPF are also participating in the joint operation,” Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, Bhim Sen Tuti said in a post on X.
The encounter broke out on Wednesday evening when security forces initiated a search operation based on inputs about the movement of two to three terrorists in the area. During the exchange of fire, one security personnel suffered a minor leg injury and was shifted to hospital, officials said.
“The SOG has engaged the terrorists in the forest area of Kamadh nallah, Kathua,” the IGP said in another post, adding that the firing between the two sides continued for over an hour before subsiding. It was not immediately known whether any terrorist was hit in the gunfight.
Officials also reported movement of multiple groups of infiltrating terrorists in the region. The Army, BSF, police and CRPF have intensified search operations, verification of border dwellers and patrolling along the International Border in Kathua and Samba districts, as well as adjoining areas of Punjab, over the past month.
Ahead of Republic Day on January 26, a multi-tier security grid comprising the BSF, police and Village Defence Guards (VDGs) has been placed on high alert.
Kathua district has witnessed several encounters over the past two years, resulting in the deaths of 16 people, including 11 security personnel and five terrorists. While seven security personnel and two militants were killed in 2024, seven others—four security men and three terrorists—lost their lives in 2023. Additionally, four civilians died under mysterious circumstances, with locals suspecting terrorist involvement. (Agencies)
