Encounter breaks out between security forces and terrorists in J&K's Udhampur

JAMMU: An encounter between security forces and terrorists broke out in J&K's Udhampur district on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

Officials said that the gunfight was taking place in Khandara Top of Basantgarh area in Udhampur.

"A joint team of local police and army launched a cordon and search operation in Khandara Top of Basantgarh. As the joint team of security forces came close to the hiding terrorists, they fired upon the security forces, triggering an encounter," an official said.

Further details about this operation are still emerging.

Earlier on Wednesday, a BSF trooper was injured in unprovoked firing from the Pakistan side on the international border in Akhnoor as of Jammu district. This violation of the bilateral ceasefire agreement by Pakistan comes days ahead of the Assembly elections being held in J&K after a gap of 10 years.

A BSF spokesman said: "On September 11, an incident of unprovoked firing in the Akhnoor area from across the border happened which was befittingly responded to by the BSF. One BSF personnel sustained injuries in Pakistani firing; Troops are on high alert."

Security forces are maintaining a heightened vigil in J&K and aerial platforms are being utilised too.

Eight Assembly seats spread across Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban districts in the Chenab Valley region as well as 16 seats in the Kashmir Valley's Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam districts are going to polls in the first phase on September 18.

Jammu, Kathua, and Samba districts will vote in the second and third phases of the elections on September 25 and October 1.

The hilly districts of Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur in the Jammu division have witnessed terrorist ambush attacks against the army, security forces and civilians during the last two months.

After reports that a group of hardcore foreign terrorists, believed to be 40 to 50 in number, are responsible for these attacks, the army deployed over 4,000 trained soldiers drawn from the elite Para commandos and those trained in mountain warfare in the densely forested areas of those districts. Terrorists used the element of surprise to carry out ambush attacks and then disappeared into the forests of these hilly areas.

The deployment of the army and the CRPF together with the strengthening of the village defence committees (VDCs) managed by local residents, has deprived the terrorists of using the element of surprise to carry out such attacks. After the security forces started aggressively going after the terrorists both in the Jammu division and the Kashmir Valley, the terrorists are now increasingly being engaged in exchange of firing with the security forces.

"They either get killed during such encounters or remain on the run. This prevents them from surprising the security forces by carrying out sly attacks," a senior police officer said.