Deadly clash in J-K’s Kathua: 3 Policemen, 3 Terrorists killed in fierce encounter

Three terrorists and an equal number of policemen died in a day-long exchange of gunfire in the isolated forest tract of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, news agency reported, quoting officials on Thursday.

High-Stakes Shootout in Kathua

Seven other policemen, a deputy superintendent of police among them, were wounded in the operation that was headed by Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and supported by the Army and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), officials added. J&K Police neither confirmed nor rejected the reports of death of policemen, saying it will become clear once the parties arrive on Friday morning. The gun battle occurred around 8 am Thursday in the midst of stepped up operations by Jammu and Kashmir Police against a freshly infiltrated ultra group, who are believed to be from the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit.

As Security Forces Engage Militants

The encounter, which was based around Jakhole village in the Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh, brought together a five-strong group of terrorists and an exchange of fire ended with six policemen including the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) commanding a search party wounded, the officials above stated. But it was unclear at the first instance if it was the same set of terrorists that had been escaping from a previous cordon in Sanyal forest of Kathua district or another group of infiltrated terrorists, the officials added. The exchange of fire resulted in firing and explosions, where dozens of local youth were noticed helping the security forces to haul heavy weapons and ammunition deep within a gorge, the officials added. The search parties recovered evidence on Monday, such as four loaded magazines of M4 carbine, two grenades, a bulletproof vest, sleeping bags, tracksuits, food packets, and materials for making improvised explosive devices (IEDs) close to the Hiranagar encounter area.