Jammu: Several gunshots were heard on Tuesday after security forces launched a search operation following information about the suspected movement of terrorists in a remote village in Kathua district, officials said.
The intermittent firing was reported from the Najote forest area of Billawar, about 10 km from the Kamadh nallah in the Kahog forest belt where security forces exchanged fire with terrorists on January 07, the officials said.
They said the suspected terrorists fired a few shots on observing the movement of the forces, who retaliated while moving deep inside the forest to neutralise them.
The cordon-and-search operation was strengthened and efforts are on to track down the terrorists, the officials said.
On January 07, an encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces in Kahog but the ultras managed to escape taking advantage of the darkness, the challenging geography and dense forests.
Security forces have intensified anti-terrorist operations across the Jammu region ahead of the upcoming Republic-Day celebrations.
