Jammu And Kashmir: Encounter Rages In Kathua After Suspected Jaish Terrorists Fire On Security Forces

Jammu and Kashmir: An encounter broke out in the Billawar area of Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday after terrorists opened fire on a patrolling team.

How did the encounter start?

The encounter started when terrorists reportedly belonging to Pakistan-based terror grop Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) opened fire upon the security forces during a cordon and search operation.

The security forces were carrying Tuesday’s cordon and search operation days after conducting a search operation to track down terrorists in Kathua district. Officials told the media that Tuesday’s operation was launched by the security forces based on information about the presence of two to three terrorists in the area.

What is Pakistan up to?

There has been heightened activity by Pakistan along the border areas in recent days. Last Sunday, the security forces had spotted suspected drone activity in several forward areas near the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba, Rajouri, and Poonch districts.

What did officials say?

Indian Army officials informed the media that all the flying objects came from the Pakistani side and returned after hovering over Indian territory for a few minutes.

According to officials, security forces have launched a search operation on the ground after spotting suspected drone activity in the forward areas. They said Indian Army personnel guarding the Nowshera sector near the LoC in Rajouri fired with medium and light machine guns after spotting a drone hovering over Gania-Kalsian village at around 6:35 pm.

When were the other drones spotted?

Another drone was spotted at 6:35 pm in Khabbar village of Teryath in Rajouri district. Officials said the flying object with flashing lights came from the direction of Dharamsal village in Kalakote and moved towards Bharkh. They said a drone-like object with flashing lights was seen hovering for several minutes over Chak Babral village in the Ramgarh sector of Samba at around 7:15 pm. In Poonch district, another drone-like object was seen moving from Tain towards Topa in the Mankote sector near the LoC at 6:25 pm.