A joint cordon and search operation was launched by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with the CRPF, after noticing suspicious movement in Udhampur district on Friday, officials said.
The search operation was initiated after receiving credible leads about the presence of some suspected individuals (believed to be militants) in the area, they said.
The coordinated search is underway in the Chigla-Balotha area of the Basantgarh belt in Udhampur district, they said. Basantgarh is located at an important traditional infiltration route used by Pakistani terrorists who cross the International Border (IB) in Kathua. The route is then used to navigate through the higher reaches up towards Doda and Kishtwar districts in the Jammu division before heading into the Kashmir Valley.
Basantgarh has seen several encounters and terror-related incidents over the past couple of years.
Security officials believe that suspected terrorists have been spotted in the area, and the operation to track and engage them is ongoing in the Balotha area, they said.
Jammu division, after the abrogation of Article 370, has witnessed a surge in terror-related activities, as terrorists infiltrated and took shelter in the naturally dense forests, caves, and dhoks (wooden homes) belonging to Gujjar Bakarwal to survive and launch attacks on security forces.
Terrorists took advantage of the vacuum created due to the transfer of army units guarding the area to eastern Ladakh after the 2020 Galwan clash with the Chinese army.
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