Encounter Breaks Out Between Terrorists And Forces In J&K's Basantgarh

An encounter broke out between the security forces and a group of terrorists in Bastangarh area of Udhampur district in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the preliminary information, the security forces established the contact with the hiding terrorists in the upper reaches and trapped them in the forested area.

Officials said a few gunshots were heard from the Pathi Nalla Khaned area of Basantgarh when joint search parties of the police and the Army moved deep inside the densely forested area to track down the terrorists.

There was no report of any casualty, they said and added that a hunt for the terrorists was underway.

According to DIG Udhampur, a search operation was carried in the early hours of Tuesday after specific inputs regarding the terrorists were received.

“After specific input was gleaned regarding movement in the area, a SADO was launched in the wee hours today by our parties; contact has been established with a group of terrorists in Khaned area of PS Basantgarh. Ops underway @JmuKmrPolice @adgpi @crpfindia,” DIG Udhampur mentioned in a post on X.

The four foreign terrorists have further split themselves in two groups.

Udhampur is one of the mountainous districts of the Jammu division where foreign terrorists have been reported to be hiding in the dense forests.

In wake of increased terror activities, the army has deployed over 4,000 soldiers, including elite Para commandos and those trained in mountain warfare in the hilly districts of the Jammu division including Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur districts, according to news agency IANS.

The terrorists hiding in the dense forests of these districts have carried out hit-and-run attacks against the army, paramilitary forces, and civilians.

The entire anti-terrorism strategy was revisited at the high-level security meetings chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

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