Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 8: Security forces continued searches for three terrorists at Kamadh Nallah at village Kahog in upper reaches of Billawar tehsil in Kathua district but there was no fresh contact with the terrorists since yesterday afternoon.
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Officials told the Excelsior that some items were recovered from an isolated area where the terrorists had taken tea yesterday but Army, SOG, paramilitary forces and police continued searches deep inside the forests to hunt down three terrorists whose movement was first spotted yesterday morning.
A contact was established by small team of the SOG at 4 PM yesterday and since then there has been no fresh exchange of firing, they said.
There were unconfirmed reports that a terrorist was hit by a bullet.
Search operation is, however, on, the officials said.
Three terrorists are reported to have come down from mountains to Kamadh Nallah near village Kahog either in search of food or for a terror attack.
“The search operation to track down the hiding terrorists resumed early this morning after a night-long cordon,” the officials said.
They added that the additional forces have been called in, along with aerial surveillance, to pin down the terrorists hiding in the dense forest.
The gunfight broke out at Kahog village on Wednesday evening after security forces launched a search operation based on information about the presence of two to three terrorists in the area, the officials said.
During the exchange of fire, one security person suffered a minor injury after a bullet hit his leg. He has been hospitalized, they said.
According to officials, the firing between the two sides lasted for more than an hour before the guns fell silent. It was not immediately known if any terrorist was hit in the gunfight, the officials said.
There are also reports of the movement of terrorists in upper reaches of the region.
The Army, the BSF, police and the CRPF are continuously conducting search operations, identifying border dwellers, and intensifying patrols along the International Border in Samba and Kathua districts and the adjoining areas of Punjab for the past one month, the officials said.
A multi-tier security grid comprising the BSF, border police, and Village Defence Guards (VDGs) has been put on alert ahead of the Republic Day on January 26.
The Kathua district has witnessed several encounters between security forces and terrorists over the past two years, resulting in the killings of 16 people – 11 security personnel and five terrorists.
While seven security personnel were martyred and two terrorists were killed in 2024 when terrorists revived their activities in the district after more than a decade, seven persons – four security men and three terrorists – were killed in 2023, the officials said.
In addition, four civilians died under mysterious circumstances, with locals suspecting the involvement of terrorists in their killings.
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