A Jaish E Mohd terrorist was killed in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district on Sunday, bringing the death toll in the incident to two, officials confirmed.
The body of the terrorist was recovered from the site of the encounter at Koug-Mandli in Billawar tehsil this afternoon. A massive search operation has been underway in the village for the second consecutive day. Additional Director General of Police, Jammu Zone, Anand Jain, stated that the operation was launched on Saturday after receiving information about the presence of three to four foreign terrorists in the area.
The operation took a tragic turn on Saturday evening when terrorists opened fire on a joint security search party, resulting in the death of a policeman, Head Constable Bashir Ahmad, and injuries to two officers—a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and an Assistant Sub-Inspector. Both injured officers are reported to be in stable condition. Speaking to reporters near the encounter site, Jain explained that the operation was initiated following intelligence about the terrorists’ presence in a house. He emphasized that the area is currently under a tight security cordon, with efforts ongoing to neutralize the remaining terrorists.
Regarding the timing of the operation ahead of the third phase of polling scheduled for October 1, Jain assured that operations against terrorists would persist. “We are receiving continuous information about terrorists and will continue conducting operations with the aim of neutralizing them as soon as possible,” he noted. He added that adequate security arrangements have been established in all poll-bound areas to prevent any terror-related incidents and ensure a violence-free environment during the upcoming elections. The third phase of polling will cover not only Kathua but also the Jammu, Udhampur, and Samba districts in the Jammu region, as well as Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora districts in north Kashmir.