Heavy exchange of fire in Rajouri village

Rajouri, Aug 29: A group of terrorists and security forces personnel exchanged heavy volume of fire during an encounter that broke out in Lathi village in Rajouri district in Pir Panjal region.

The gunfight erupted on Wednesday night and continued till early Thursday morning after which no fresh exchange took place.

A vast area comprising three villages has been cordoned off by the security forces.

Meanwhile, heavy reinforcement of J&K Police, Army as well as CAPFs was moved in to further strengthen the cordon laid in the area.

ADGP Jammu Zone, Anand Jain told Greater Kashmir that on Wednesday at 9:30 pm, a search operation was launched by the security forces in the Kheri Mohra Lathi and Danthal areas of Police Station Budhal and revenue tehsil Khawas.

“At 11:45 pm, contact was established with the terrorists near Kheri Mohra leading to an exchange of gunfire,” he said.

Official sources said that a group of two to four terrorists was present in the area that came in contact with the security forces and it led to a heavy exchange of fire.

They said that this operation was challenging as the encounter site was surrounded by forest cover of low-height trees, which are dense compared to pine tree forest while big gorges and the water channels further elevated the hardships.

Official sources said that though no fresh gunshots had been heard in the area, the security forces were continuing with their search operation.