One Jaish terrorist was reportedly killed in an encounter in the Billawar area of Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Friday. Officials said the operation was launched after security forces received specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area.
The Rising Star Corps of the Indian Army said that a joint operation was launched by the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday in the general area of Parhetar in Kathua district.
“Acting on specific intelligence inputs, a joint operation was launched by the Army and Police on January 23 in the general area of Parhetar, Kathua. The area was cordoned off and contact was established. In a precise strike by the joint forces, one foreign terrorist has been eliminated. Search operations are continuing,” the Rising Star Corps shared in a post on X.
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Jammu, Bhim Sen Tuti also confirmed the encounter. He said that the killed terrorist was a Pakistani national linked to the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed.
“A Pakistani Jaish terrorist has been neutralised by a small JKP team in a joint operation with the Army and CRPF in the general area of Billawar, Kathua district,” the IGP Jammu shared in a post on X.
Officials identified the slain terrorist as JeM commander Usman. They said a large quantity of arms and ammunition, including an M4 automatic rifle, was seized from his possession.
Security forces have intensified search operations in the area to ensure that no other terrorists are hiding nearby. The development comes days after an Army Havildar, who was among eight soldiers injured in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district earlier this week, succumbed to his injuries.
Security forces have also been carrying out counter-terrorist operations in the dense forests of the upper reaches of the Chhatru area in Kishtwar district. The eight soldiers were injured when terrorists, taking advantage of higher ground, attacked the approaching search parties with grenades and AK-47 fire in the Singhpora area on Sunday afternoon.
According to sources, two groups of terrorists, led by Saifullah and Adil—both Pakistani nationals—have been active in the region for the past two years.
Nearly 35 Pakistani terrorists are believed to be hiding in the dense forests of the mountainous Doda and Kishtwar districts in the Chenab Valley region.
Officials said winter snowfall restricts their movement, giving security forces an opportunity to track and corner them.
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