Terrorist killed in encounter with security forces in J&K's Kathua, search operation underway

Terrorist killed in encounter with security forces in J&K's Kathua, search operation underway

A terrorist was killed in an ongoing encounter in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district on Sunday, taking the death toll in the incident to two, officials said.

According to the officials, the terrorist's body was found at the location of the encounter in Billawar tehsil this afternoon near Kog-Mandli.

This is the second day of a big search and rescue operation in the village.

A search operation was launched in the village on Saturday in following information indicating the presence of three to four foreign terrorists, said Anand Jain, Additional Director General of Police, Jammu Zone.

Terrorists opened fire on a joint security search party in the area on Saturday night, leaving one policeman dead and two injured.

Talking to reporters near the scene of the encounter, Jain said an information was received about the presence of terrorists in the area and subsequently an operation was launched, leading to an exchange of fire.

Head constable Bashir Ahmad laid down his life and two officers — a DSP and an Assistant Sub-Inspector — were injured in the encounter, he said, adding both the officers are stable.

He said that three to four foreign terrorists were hiding in the neighborhood, and that's why the entire region was cordoned off and under strict security.

He claimed that once it was reported that there were terrorists inside a house, an operation was started and is currently ongoing.

Asked about the interception of the terrorist group ahead of the third phase of polls on October 1, the police officer said the operations against terrorists are going on and will continue.

“We are getting continuous information about terrorists and subsequently conducting operations with an endeavour to neutralise them as soon as possible,” he said.

In order to guarantee that there are no terror-related incidents and that the third phase is free of violence, he noted that sufficient security measures have been put in place in all poll-bound locations.

The third phase includes, in addition to Kathua, the districts of Jammu, Udhampur, and Samba in the Jammu area, as well as Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora in north Kashmir.