Security forces on Thursday launched a cordon and search operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district after a brief exchange of fire with suspected militants, officials said.
The firefight that occurred between security forces and suspected militants during a search operation following a tip-off about their presence in the Singhpora area of Chhatru, they said.
“Contact has been established with terrorists during a joint operation with police at Chhatru in Kishtwar this morning,” the White Knight Corps said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, the cordon and search radius have been widened to trace the fleeing militants with more reinforcements, they added.
The operation to neutralise militants is underway, Sources earlier told reporters that two to three militants are hiding in the area.
The operation follows a string of intensified anti-terror actions across the Valley. In the past fortnight alone, multiple encounters have taken place in the south Kashmir region. On 14 May, security forces gunned down two militants in the Redwani area of Kulgam. Earlier, on 7 May, two terrorists affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba were eliminated in the Chakura area of Shopian.
Just a week ago, on 15 May and 16 May respectively, fierce gunbattles were reported from the Keller area of Shopian and the Nadar locality in Tral, Pulwama, resulting in the killing of three terrorists.
The intensified operations follow the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians were shot dead in a brutal assault that shocked the Valley and led to calls for a stronger counter-offensive.
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Security forces have since shifted focus to known militant hideouts in south and central Kashmir, deploying coordinated efforts aimed at dismantling the remaining terror infrastructure. A senior officer involved in the operations said the crackdown is “intelligence-driven and will continue till complete elimination of terror presence in the region.”
Besides field operations, authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have undertaken a campaign to demolish properties linked to militants or used for sheltering them, aiming to choke logistical support to terror outfits.
The identity of the terrorists currently holed up in Kishtwar remains unconfirmed. The joint team has cordoned off the area, and intermittent exchanges of fire have been reported since the early hours of the morning.
Further details are awaited as the operation progresses.
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