Fresh Encounter Breaks Out In J-K's Kathua After Four Days Of Anti-Terror Ops In Hiranagar, Cop Injured

The Special Operations Group of police had launched an operation after intelligence reports of terrorists' presence inside an enclosure in a nursery in Sanyal village near the Pakistan border surfaced.

A police personnel was injured on Thursday after a fresh gunfight broke out between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, where a massive anti-terror operation is underway for the last four days.

The exchange of fire started this morning after the security forces spotted the terrorists near Jakhole village in Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh, located nearly 30 km from the site of Sunday’s encounter in Hiranagar sector, news agency PTI reported.

Officials said reinforcements were dispatched, and a gunfight was still underway when last reports were received.

The terrorists are believed to be the same group that escaped after a gunfight in Hiranagar sector, which lasted over half-an-hour on Sunday evening. The Special Operations Group (SOG) of police had launched an operation following intelligence reports of their presence inside a dhok, a local term for an enclosure in a nursery in Sanyal village near the International Border with Pakistan, officials said.  

A massive search operation involving the police, army, NSG, BSF, and CRPF armed with technical and surveillance technology and equipped by helicopter, UAVs, drones, bulletproof vehicles, and sniffer dogs continued to track down the terrorists, who are believed to have infiltrated on Saturday, either via the ravine route or through a newly dug tunnel from across the border.

Security forces expanded the search, focusing on routes leading to Billawar forest, and successfully tracked the terrorists, officials said. 

On Monday, search teams recovered four loaded magazines of an M4 carbine, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits, several packets of food, and polythene bags containing materials for making improvised explosive devices near the Hiranagar encounter site.  

Director General of Police, Nalin Prabhat, was in Kathua and was seen leading the anti-terrorist operation along with Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, Bhim Sen Tuti over the past four days. 

(With inputs from news agency PTI)