Daijiworld Media Network - Jammu
Jammu, Jan 18: An encounter erupted on Sunday between security forces and terrorists in the Singhpora area of Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
According to authorities, the gunfight began after security forces launched a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) based on specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area. As the forces moved in to search the suspected hideouts, the militants opened fire, triggering a retaliatory response and leading to an ongoing exchange of gunfire.
Officials said additional contingents have been deployed to strengthen the operation, and the entire area has been sealed off to prevent the terrorists from fleeing. The encounter was continuing at the time of the last reports.
Security agencies have been maintaining heightened vigilance across the hilly districts of the Jammu division — including Kathua, Poonch, Rajouri, Kishtwar, Doda, Udhampur and Reasi — following intelligence inputs suggesting the movement of Pakistan-based terrorists in the dense forest and mountainous terrain of the region.
In recent months, joint teams of the Army, police and paramilitary forces have engaged militants in several encounters in districts such as Kathua and Udhampur. However, officials said terrorists have often managed to evade capture by exploiting thick ???? terrain and the cover of darkness.
The issue of militant presence in the Jammu region’s hill districts was reviewed in detail during a high-level security meeting on January 8 in New Delhi, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. During the meeting, Shah directed security agencies to carry out coordinated, sustained and intelligence-driven operations to eliminate terrorists from mountainous areas.
He also emphasised the need to ensure zero infiltration across the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir. The LoC, stretching about 740 km, is guarded by the Army, while the 240-km-long IB is manned by the Border Security Force (BSF).
The LoC runs through Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora districts of the Kashmir Valley and partly through Jammu district, while the IB lies across Samba, Kathua and Jammu districts of the Jammu division.