Kathua, March 28, Four police personnel were killed during an encounter with militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, officials confirmed. Security forces managed to neutralize two militants, while three to four others are still holed up in the area.
Five security personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment at a hospital.
The encounter comes after five days of search operations carried out by the Army, National Security Guard, Border Security Force, Police, Special Operations Group, and Central Reserve Police Force. The situation intensified on Sunday when an exchange of fire occurred. Later, on Tuesday, a local resident informed the police that two men in army uniforms had asked her for water while eating in the area, raising suspicions.
On Thursday, police forces moved deep into the forests and engaged in close combat with heavily armed militants. In the ensuing gunfight, two militants were eliminated, but four policemen lost their lives before they could be taken down. An official involved in the operation stated that retrieving the bodies of the fallen officers remains difficult due to the rugged terrain and the continued presence of militants.
Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police, Nalin Prabhat, who is leading the anti-militancy operation, confirmed the killing of two militants and expressed confidence that the remaining holed-up militants would also be neutralized.
The situation escalated following an earlier encounter in the Sanyal forests on Sunday, where at least five militants had been trapped. However, they managed to escape and reached Juthana, about 20 kilometers away. Security forces later recovered magazines of US-made M4 rifles from the first encounter site, indicating that the group was equipped with sophisticated weapons. The operation remains ongoing as forces continue their efforts to ehliminate the remaining threats in the region.
