Over two dozen held in major search operation across J&K’s Kathua region

Terrorists are still hiding inside the forested area adjacent to Badnota village in Kathua district

July 10, 2024

Massive search operation continues despite intermittent rain

According to officials, over two dozen people have been detained for questioning by police so far, during the three-day-long massive search operation to trace the terrorists responsible for ambushing an army vehicle in J&K’s Kathua district on Monday.

The detained people are being questioned about the terrorist ambush and it is expected that some vital clues will emerge from their interrogation.

Official sources said that the terrorists are still hiding inside the forested area adjacent to Badnota village in Kathua district where five soldiers were killed and five others injured in the Monday terrorist attack.

The massive search operation launched from three different sides of Kathua, Udhampur, and Bhaderwah continues despite intermittent rain in these areas.

Police and paramilitary forces have bolstered their presence in the forested regions of Udhampur, Samba, Poonch, and Rajouri districts. The search operation has now expanded to include Rajouri and Poonch districts as well. Stringent measures include thorough checks of all vehicular movement entering or exiting the targeted areas, ensuring every individual is properly identified and frisked before clearance.

The Army’s elite para commandos, who specialize in carrying out surgical strikes in densely forested areas, are deployed deep in the forest area in Kathua. The search operation is assisted by drones, sniffer dogs, helicopters, metal detectors, etc.

In Doda district, the search operation is presently going on in the Ghandi Bhagwah forests.

Villagers in Badnota village of Kathua are concerned about their safety since Monday’s terror ambush is the first terror attack in this otherwise peaceful area, nearly 150 km away from Kathua town. Security forces believe that the two terrorists who carried out the ambush on Monday near Badnota village have sustained injuries and could not have covered a long distance on foot.

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