Intense search Ops underway for terrorists in Poonch, Kathua dists

Srinagar, Sept 15: An encounter between security forces and terrorists in the remote Pathanateer area of Poonch district and massive searches are underway, officials on Saturday said.
A police officer told Rising Kashmir that encounter broke out after a joint team of security forces received a tip-off about the presence of terrorists in the area. When the forces encircled the location, the terrorists opened fire, prompting the security forces to retaliate, leading to the ongoing exchange of fire.
He further said that the police returned fire, and the exchange between both sides was still underway at the time of the last report.
“Reinforcements have been rushed to the area to block escape routes and help neutralise the terrorists,” the police official said.
The police official said that this comes just hours after an overnight gunfight in the same Pathanateer area of Poonch, where a terrorist was believed to have been injured.
“Bloodstains were found near the site of the gunfight, indicating that one of the terrorists may have been injured. The area remains under a security cordon, and a search operation is ongoing to locate the fleeing terrorists,” he said.
The officer said that the operation against hiding terrorists is underway. “There is nothing fresh now and it continues with good intensity,” he said, adding that the entire forest belt is still under tight security cordon to neutralise the terrorists.
“The area is mountainous and the forest is dense, making the operation difficult and dangerous. Security has been tightened, with ‘Naka’ checking and rigorous vehicle inspections implemented across the region,” he added
Meanwhile, in Kathua, encounter is ongoing between terrorists and security forces in Bani area.
Meanwhile, on August 10, Kathua Police released sketches of four KT/JEM terrorists involved in the Machedi and Chatergala attacks, detailing their movement in the Bani area of Kathua. More details awaited.
Over the past two months, nearly a dozen personnel, including two Army Captains and seven soldiers, have lost their lives in separate attacks across the upper reaches of Doda, Udhampur, and Kathua districts. Additionally, security forces neutralized three terrorists during an earlier operation in the Gandoh area of Doda district.
Earlier, on Sep 09, two terrorists were killed along the Line of Control (LoC) after security forces foiled an infiltration bid from the Pakistan side into Nowshera sector of Rajouri district.