Jammu/Chamba: A joint team of security forces Thursday launched a search operation in Billawar in J&K’s Kathua district after locals reported sighting two terror suspects in a forested area. Meanwhile, multiple such anti-terror operations remained underway in the upper reaches of Kishtwar (Op Trashi-I), Doda, and Udhampur and some other districts to hunt and kill terrorists on the run.With Kishtwar’s Op Trashi-I entering its 12th day Thursday, the adjoining Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh has been placed on high alert, Chamba SP Vijay Saklani said, adding that security agencies have intensified surveillance along the inter-state boundary to prevent any attempted infiltration by terrorists. Chamba shares a 208-km boundary with J&K, making it one of Himachal’s most sensitive border districts.
“The searches in Kathua’s Billawar were launched after residents reported the movement of two terror suspects with backpacks in Khumbla village,” an official said Thursday, adding that senior officers of multiple security agencies have been monitoring the ongoing operations. Despite heavy snowfall, there has been no let-up in searches being carried out jointly by the Army, paramilitary forces, police and SOG, who are combing the mountainous terrain in different J&K districts — many of which are connected through dense forests — in their pursuit of fleeing Jaish-e-Mohammad ultras, said officials.Under Operation Trashi-I, the first fire exchange between troops and terrorists occurred in Sonnar village near Mandral-Singhpora on Jan 18, in which eight security personnel were injured, one of whom eventually succumbed. On Jan 22, another gunfight broke out with holed-up ultras in Singhpora. Yet another firefight followed on Jan 24, in which a Pakistani Jaish terrorist was shot dead.Security forces had busted three terrorist hideouts in Kathua district on Jan 16. Recoveries included food items, utensils, cooking gas cylinders, empty M4 cartridges, logistical material, etc. — sufficient to last for months. The fleeing ultras, however, managed to give troops the slip during subsequent encounters in Kamad Nallah, Kalaban, and Dhanu Parole areas.“This points to the terrorists’ long-term operational planning and the persistent risk of infiltration into Chamba district in case of pressure from security forces in Kishtwar,” said a source in Himachal.
