Security forces on Friday resumed an anti-terrorist operation in a remote forested area in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, a day after three terrorists and an equal number of policemen were killed in an encounter there, officials said.
Seven others, including an officer, were injured in a gunbattle on Thursday.
After halting for the night, search parties moved from different directions with the first light of the day, with the primary focus on retrieving the bodies of the deceased, finding a missing policeman and neutralizing any other threat, they said.
They said security forces are moving cautiously to the targeted area but there was no response from the terrorist side and it is believed that all of them are dead.
However, only three bodies of the terrorists could be sighted through drones and the fate of two others remains unknown.
The operation, centred near Jakhole village in the Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh, against the terrorists started around 8 am on Thursday amid intensified operations led by police against a group of suspected Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) ultras who had recently infiltrated from across the International Border in Hiranagar sector, the officials said.
However, it was not immediately clear whether it was the same group that had been evading an earlier cordon in Sanyal forest of Hiranagar or another batch of infiltrated terrorists.
Three terrorists were killed in the onslaught led by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and assisted by the Army and CRPF.
Adding to the tension, five police personnel, including a Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), were reportedly trapped near the gunfight’s location, adjacent to a rivulet concealed by dense foliage.
However, the SDPO — a DSP rank officer — was evacuated in an injured condition from the scene late this evening, while three of his personal security officers were found dead and another policeman was still to be located.
Besides the SDPO, three more policemen were admitted to Kathua hospital and their condition was stated to be “stable”. Two army personnel were also injured in the operation.
