Fresh Gunfight Breaks Out Between Terrorists and Security Forces in J&K’s Kathua

JAMMU:
A fresh gunfight started overnight between the security forces and terrorists in the Panjtirthi area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district.

Officials said three terrorists were involved in the gunfight and are among the five who were engaged in an earlier encounter with the security forces. Two terrorists were killed in the anti-terror operation.

The ongoing gunfight is in the mountainous area between the Ghati and Billawar areas of the Kathua district.

Security forces used aerial surveillance and sniffer dogs as they advanced into the forests and upper reaches of Ghati in the Rajbagh area of the Kathua district.

The forces also launched a separate search operation in the Samba sector near the International Border to sanitise the area.

Reportedly, three suspected terrorists entered a house in Rui village, a few kilometres from the encounter site of Safiyan Jakhole.

Security forces are engaged in a multi-tier operation to track down the terrorists in the forest belts of Rui, Juthana, Ghati and Sanyal in the Rajbagh region and parts of Billawar.

The joint forces are also focusing on the networks of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad in areas along the International Border.

On Sunday night, three suspicious persons entered a house in Rui village and asked for water from an elderly woman.

“I was alone at home when they asked me for water. I went into another room out of fear after giving them water.

“Before leaving, they forcibly entered the kitchen and took away rotis (flat bread) and sabzi (vegetable),” the woman said. The woman said they even offered her money, which she refused to take.

The incident prompted the security forces to put the area under a night cordon.

“It is difficult for terrorists to survive in the absence of a network of overground workers (OGWs), who provide them with food, shelter and escape routes.

“Security forces have picked up six persons, including some women of a family for questioning as it is suspected that they may have provided food, shelter and guidance to the terrorists operating in the region.

“The women belong to the family of Mohammad Latief, OGW, who is in jail under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for helping terrorists in Malhar during an attack on an army truck last year, in which five soldiers were martyred.

“It is believed that Abu Tala, one of the slain terrorists, stayed at Latief’s house

“Security forces have questioned over two dozen persons about terrorist movements in the area. Police are also tracking the group of terrorists after intercepting them on March 23 within a ‘dhok’ in a nursery in Sanyal village near the International Border with Pakistan. Tracking them led to an encounter at Safiyan Jakhole in the Rajbagh area, which resulted in the killing of two terrorists and the martyrdom of four policemen last Thursday,” the officials said.