JAMMU: Three to four foreign terrorists are holed up in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, and an operation is underway to neutralise them, Additional Director General of Police, Jammu zone, Anand Jain, said on Sunday.
Jain stated that adequate security arrangements are in place in the poll-bound district to ensure “violence-free” voting in the third and final phase of assembly polls on October 1.
The situation escalated on Saturday evening when a policeman was killed, and two officers were injured after terrorists opened fire on a joint security search party at Kog-Mandli village in Billawar tehsil. Head constable Bashir Ahmad laid down his life, while a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and an Assistant Sub-Inspector sustained injuries; both are reported to be stable.
Speaking to reporters near the scene of the encounter, Jain explained, “An information was received about the presence of terrorists in the area, and subsequently, an operation was launched, leading to an exchange of fire.”
The entire area is under a tight security cordon as the operation to neutralise the three to four foreign terrorists continues. When asked if any terrorists had been killed in the encounter, he noted, “There is no confirmation about the killing of any terrorist so far. It will take some more time to get the real picture.”
The police officer added that the presence of terrorists was reported in a house, which prompted the ongoing operation. Addressing the interception of the terrorist group ahead of the third phase of polls, Jain affirmed, “The operations against terrorists are going on and will continue. We are getting continuous information about terrorists and subsequently conducting operations with an endeavour to neutralise them as soon as possible.”
In addition to Kathua, the third phase of polling will also cover Jammu, Udhampur, and Samba districts in the Jammu region, as well as Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora districts in north Kashmir.