One terrorist killed, three trapped as encounter erupts in J&K

New Indian Express

7 hours ago

SRINAGAR: Amid increased security for the annual Amaranth Yatra beginning July 3, an encounter between terrorists and security forces in the Basantgarh area of Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday left a terrorist dead, while three others are trapped.
'Based on specific intelligence, a joint operation was launched by Indian Army and J&K Police in the Bihali area of Basantgarh in Udhampur district today,' the Army posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The forces immediately laid siege around the area to track down the terrorists, braving inclement weather. 'During the search operation, security forces established contact with the hiding terrorists who fired on the search party,' the official said.
He said the troops returned fire, triggering an encounter which lasted the entire day. 'A terrorist was killed in the gunfight so far,' an army official said. He said the security operation is going on to track down the remaining terrorists trapped in the area.
According to IGP Jammu, security forces have inputs that four militants were trapped in the encounter. Additional troops have been rushed to the area to tighten the siege.
The security forces used drones and other surveillance gadgets to pinpoint the movement of the terrorists.
He said security agencies believe that it is the same group of militants, which has been active in Udhampur for the last year. It is suspected that the group belongs to Jaish-e-Mohammad and all of them are Pakistani nationals and well-armed and properly trained.
The group was trapped in cordon and search operations on many occasions in Udhampur last year, too. But they had managed to give the slip to the security men, sources said.
According to sources, security forces have been conducting aerial surveillance of the area through drones and other surveillance gadgets to keep track of the movement of the militants, who have been continuously changing their positions to escape the security forces cordon.
There are heightened security measures for the Amarnath Yatra this year after the April 22 terror attack on tourists at Pahalgam's Baisaran in which 25 tourists and a local ponywala were killed.
10% drop in Amarnath registration post attack: L-G
J&K Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha said on Thursday said there has been a drop of over 10% in pilgrim registration for this year's Amarnath Yatra in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. In view of the persisting threat, a total of 180 companies of Central Armed Police Forces, which is 30 more than previous years, have been deployed for the security of annual Amarnath Yatra in Jammu division this year,