Security men close in on 3 holed-up ultras. 

Three Pakistani terrorists are believed to be trapped in the dense forest areas of Kathua district amid an ongoing massive search operation by security forces. The militants, reportedly running low on food, are being tracked using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), sniffer dogs and other surveillance equipment.

These ultras were involved in two encounters—one on March 23 in Hiranagar sector near the International Border (IB) and another on Thursday in Ghati Juthana area, where four policemen and two terrorists were killed. A fresh exchange of fire occurred late on Monday evening, but the terrorists managed to escape into the forest. Security forces detected the terrorists’ movement near a temple in the Panjtirthi area, which has thick forest cover. A coordinated operation involving the Army, J&K Police and CRPF has been launched to eliminate the militants.  In an official statement, a spokesperson of the Rising Star Corps of the Army confirmed the developments, stating, “Acting on intelligence inputs, multiple surveillance cum ambushes were deployed in general area Panjtirthi, Kathua by Army, J&K Police and CRPF. Suspicious movement was observed on the night of March 31, leading to an exchange of fire. Search and Destroy operations were launched at first light on 1 April. The operation is still in progress.”

The terrorists are believed to have infiltrated from Pakistan recently but lost their way. Their presence was first detected by locals in Hiranagar on March 23, who immediately alerted the police.“It was the human intelligence that has helped the security forces in detecting the movement of the terrorists. Inputs were received even from forest areas after which operations were launched against this group of ultras,” a military intelligence source revealed. During Thursday’s intense gunfight, the three surviving terrorists escaped under the cover of darkness. Security forces, having already lost four personnel, are exercising caution as the ultras may have set up ambushes.

Elite Army Para, Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K Police and CRPF are leading the manhunt. On Monday, search operations were conducted in the forest areas of Rui, Juthana and Ghati and Sanyal.

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