Jammu: An encounter is underway between militants and security forces at Chatroo area of Kishtwar district, officials said Saturday.
A top police officer said that militants fired upon the search party of Security forces in the Chatroo area.
“As the troops inched closer to the suspected spot, they came under heavy fire which was retaliated effectively,” the officer said. He said two to three militants are believed to be trapped in the area. Additional reinforcements have been called in to ensure militants don’t flee. “Cordon layers are being strengthened,” the officer said.
The official added that the group of militants was likely affiliated with the Jaish-e-Mohammed and was also behind the September 13 Chatroo, Kishtwar encounter in which two soldiers Naib Subedar Vipin Kumar and Sepoy Arvind Singh were killed and two others injured in during a brief encounter that broke-out a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi rally on Doda on September 14.
The group also executed July 16 Doda attack.
“These militants appear to be of JeM, and we suspect that it is the same group that was responsible for the recent Chatroo attack and Dessa forest attack that left an army captain and three soldiers dead,” said the official.
Two months ago, Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D Rajesh, Sepoy Bijendra and Sepoy Ajay, all from the counter-insurgency unit of 10 Rashtriya Rifles, were killed in a gun battle with the militants.
The extremists ambushed a search party — comprising the captain and seven soldiers—on a hilltop. The security forces chased them into the treacherous terrain and thick foliage, leading to another firefight in the woods. The militants had managed to escape after wounding the personnel. Kashmir Tigers, a proxy outfit of JeM, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Following with massive manhunt was launched in densely forest covered areas in the upper reaches.
The Defence personnel have already increased vigil in the UT for ongoing assembly elections.
A surge in militant strikes in Jammu has raised concerns that the erstwhile peaceful region was emerging as the new epicentre of violence in the Union territory. This year, 14 security personnel and 11 civilians have died in separate extremist attacks in Jammu. Security forces have gunned down 10 militants in the region
