Kathua encounter: Militant killed, death toll 2

Srinagar, Sep 29: The death toll in the ongoing Kathua encounter rose to two with the killing of an unidentified militant on Sunday and officials said that the operation would continue till the militants are killed.

The encounter broke out on Saturday in the remote village of Kog-Mandli, located in the Billawar tehsil of Kathua district.

The Army said that war-like stores had been recovered from the killed militant and operation is in progress. “Operation #OpKUAIG launched by #RisingStarCorps & @JmukmrPolice on September 28, 2024, in general area #Dhanuparole, #Machhedi #Kathua. One terrorist was killed and war-like stores recovered. Operation still in progress @prodefencejammu @RisingStarCorps @adgpi @jmukmrPolice @ANI @ddnews_jammu,” Western Command - Indian Army posted on X.

Officials said that security forces recovered the body of the killed militant from the encounter site in the afternoon.

The operation, which began on Saturday, continues as a massive search is underway for the remaining militants believed to be hiding in the area.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Jammu Zone, Anand Jain said that the operation was initiated after receiving intelligence about the presence of three to four foreign militants in the village.

“A joint security search team was fired at by terrorists on Saturday evening, leading to the death of a head constable and injuries to two officers,” Jain said.

Head Constable Bashir Ahmad was killed in the exchange of fire, while a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) were injured.

The injured officers are said to be in stable condition.

ADGP Jain said that efforts were being made to kill the hiding militants.

“We have cordoned off the entire area, and operations will continue until the terrorists are eliminated. We suspect there are still three to four foreign terrorists hiding in the village,” he said.

About the timing of the operation ahead of the third phase of the J&K Assembly polls scheduled for October 1, Jain said that anti-militancy operations were an ongoing effort.

“Our security forces are continuously receiving information about terrorist activities, and we are determined to neutralise these threats promptly,” he said.

ADGP Jain said that adequate security measures had been implemented in all poll-bound areas to prevent any militancy-related incidents and ensure a violence-free election.

The third phase of polling covers the districts of Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, and Samba in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora in north Kashmir.