Jammu: Three terrorists and an equal number of policemen were killed and seven others, including a deputy superintendent of police injured in a fierce day-long gunfight in a remote forested area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, officials said on Thursday.
The encounter started around 8 am amid intensified operations led by Jammu and Kashmir Police against a recently infiltrated group of ultras believed to be members of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit, 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 Kathua region or another batch of infiltrated terrorists.
The gunfight triggered intense firing and explosions, the officials said, as dozens of local youths were seen assisting the security forces to carry heavy weapons and ammunition deep inside a gorge.
The encounter, centred near Jakhole village in the Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh, involved a group of approximately five terrorists and an initial exchange of gunfire resulted in injuries to six policemen, including the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) leading a search party, the officials said.
They said that 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 the 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 from the scene late this evening, while three of his personal security officers were found dead, official sources said, adding the fate of another missing policeman was not known immediately.
The J&K Police has neither confirmed nor denied the death of the policemen, saying a clear picture will emerge once the parties reach the scene on Friday morning.
The bodies of the terrorists were also not retrieved so far as security forces halted the operation for the night, the officials said.
The operation will be resumed with the first light of the day on Friday, as two more terrorists are believed to be trapped in the area. They are also presumed dead but their bodies could not be located by the drones, the officials said.
Besides the SDPO, two more policemen were admitted in Kathua hospital and their condition was stated to be “stable”. Two army personnel were also injured and shifted to military hospital.
Special troops of Army were airdropped at the scene of the encounter in the evening to further strengthen the cordon around the area, the officials said, adding bodies of two terrorists were noticed by drones and would be retrieved on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, the People’s Anti-Fascist Front, a proxy outfit of JeM, claimed responsibility for the firing on the police party.
It may be mentioned that a group of terrorists were intercepted by the SOG in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district on Sunday evening.
Despite a massive search operation, the terrorists managed to escape the initial cordon, the officials said, adding it is assumed that the same could have been possibly spotted near Jakhole, approximately 30 kilometers from the initial encounter site.
The terrorists were moving through the forest area when a police party headed by a SDPO moved in after getting specific information, the officials said, adding they came under heavy firing resulting in the gunfight.
Reinforcements from the police, Army, and CRPF were immediately deployed in the area.
The quiet village of Suffain in Kathua district was shattered by the relentless sounds of gunfire, grenades, and rocket fire as a fierce exchange raged throughout the day, punctuated by a series of powerful explosions.
Earlier, a group of terrorists was intercepted on Sunday evening within a ‘dhok’, a local term for an enclosure in a nursery, in Sanyal village near the International Border with Pakistan.
A subsequent massive search operation, involving the police, Army, NSG, BSF, and CRPF, utilised advanced technical and surveillance equipment, including helicopters, UAVs, drones, bulletproof vehicles, and sniffer dogs.
The search teams discovered evidence on Monday, including four loaded magazines of M4 carbine, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits, food packets, and materials for constructing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near the Hiranagar encounter site.
Police believe the terrorists infiltrated on Saturday, possibly via a ravine route or a newly constructed tunnel from across the border.
Director General of Police, Nalin Prabhat, and Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, Bhim Sen Tuti, have been overseeing the anti-terrorist operation from Kathua for the past four days, the officials said.
