A policeman has been killed, while a terrorist is believed to be injured during a gunfight in a village in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, December 15, PTI reported, citing officials.
The gunfight has ended, but the area remains under a strict security cordon with all escape routes blocked to contain the holed-up terrorists, they added.
The encounter happened in Soan village, Majalta area of the hilly district, after security forces launched a search operation after receiving information about three terrorists allegedly linked to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group, the report said.
Inspector General of Police, Jammu, Bhim Sen Tuti, informed that contact was made with the terrorists after the police received specific information about them in the remote village.
“Joint team of Special Operations Group (SOG) of police, along with Army and CRPF, are on the job,” the news portal quoted the officer.
Meanwhile, in a post on X, the IGP Jammu said, “a very small SOG team engaged the terrorists! Combing of the forest has been impeded due to darkness and treacherous terrain.”
The officials stated that the encounter occurred in the besieged village around 6 pm and lasted for some time, leading to injuries for one SOG jawan who later succumbed injuries, the report said.
One terrorist was also believed to have been injured in the initial gunfight, they said, adding that the operation was suspended for the night and would be resumed on Tuesday. Reinforcements have been rushed to the area to strengthen the cordon and neutralise the terrorists, it added.
Terrorist arrested in Pulwama
The recent search operation comes days after security forces arrested a suspected terrorist linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, and recovered a grenade from him, PTI reported, citing police, on Friday, 12 December.
Jammu and Kashmir Police in Awantipora, with security forces, arrested Musaib Nazir, a terror associate involved in supporting terrorist activities, a police spokesman told the news portal.
Acting on reliable information about a suspect's movement in the Naner Midoora area, security forces initiated a search operation in the area, the spokesman said.
During the search, Nazir, who lives in Ladhoo Khrew in south Kashmir's Pulwama district and is alleged to have links with JeM, was detained, and a grenade was recovered from him, the spokesman added.
He mentioned that a case has been filed and that further investigation is in progress.
(With inputs from agencies.)
