Armed encounter breaks out between militants and security forces in Poonch
Two suspicious people were identified and pursued by a group of police and security.
The militants hiding in the shadows shot at the joint group and the firing was in return.
The new encounter took place just two days following the police Poonch encounter the three terror suspects who were responsible in the Pahalgam terror attack in April of this year. The attack killed 26 civilians dead.
A security official stated that based on specific information regarding the presence of militants a Jammu and Kashmir encounter was conducted by the police, army and paramilitary forces within the Kanzal Mandu area of Chatroo forest in Kishtwar late in the afternoon.
The official said that as an operation to search was underway militants who were hiding in the forest shot at the troops. "The troops fired back, triggering an encounter," the official claimed.
Following the exchange of gunfire additional troops were brought to the area in order to tighten the area and stop militants from leaving the area. The security forces used drones and helicopters and other surveillance equipment to monitor the movements of militants in security forces clashes.
A security official has said that they believe there are three to four Indian Army operations within the region.
"The militants belong to Jaish-e-Mohammad and security forces had been hunting for them for a long time," said the source.
The incident took place just minutes before the start of the 38-day Amarnath journey towards the Cave shrine located in the south Kashmir Himalayas starting on Thursday. The security measures across J&K have been strengthened prior to the beginning of the Amarnath yatra that takes place following the 22nd April Pahalgam terror attack, in which 25 tourists along with an oxen wala from the local area were killed.
The incident in Kishtwar occurred just a week after a Jaish e-Mohammad Pakistani militant had been killed during an encounter with security forces within the Basantgarh forest region in the neighboring Udhampur district.
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