Jammu, India – An encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists during an ongoing anti-terror operation in a forested area of Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, officials said. The gunfight erupted in the remote Bratel Soan and Khubban areas of Majalta, a hilly and densely forested belt that has witnessed increased movement of suspected terrorists in recent weeks, according to the officials.
A joint search operation by the Army, police, and CRPF was launched in the area around 9 p.m. on Wednesday following specific intelligence inputs about the movement of a group of suspected terrorists through the forested stretch. The operation was initiated after surveillance and technical inputs suggested that the group was attempting to use the thick forest cover to move to a nearby hideout, officials familiar with the development said.
They said a few rounds of firing and blasts, reportedly carried out by the security forces while targeting a suspected hideout, were heard in the forest shortly after the operation began. The initial exchange was brief, and the area remained largely quiet through the night, prompting the security agencies to maintain a tight cordon around the suspected location rather than rushing in, in order to avoid civilian casualties and to prevent the terrorists from slipping away under the cover of darkness.
However, the lull ended on Thursday morning, when the terrorists opened heavy fire in an attempt to break the cordon and flee the area, the officials said. The security forces retaliated in a calibrated manner, triggering an encounter that was underway when the last reports were received. Additional troops and reinforcements were rushed to the area to strengthen the cordon and to neutralize the terrorists, officials added.
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The operation is being conducted with extreme caution, given the difficult terrain, thick vegetation, and the possibility of the terrorists being heavily armed. Security agencies have cordoned off the entire area, and local residents have been advised to stay away from the vicinity until the operation is completed.
The encounter is part of a series of counter-terrorism operations launched by the security forces in the Jammu region in recent months. Officials said the identity and affiliation of the terrorists involved in the current encounter will be confirmed only after the operation concludes. Further details are awaited, and the situation is being monitored closely at the highest levels of the security establishment.
