Jammu: A fresh exchange of fire broke out on Thursday between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, following four days of intense search operations.

Officials said, “Contact has been re-established with militants in the forest area of Sufain under Police Station Rajbagh in Kathua. Security forces launched a search operation in the area during the early hours. According to initial reports, firing is still ongoing.”

The extensive search efforts, which began in Sanyal village in Hiranagar Tehsil, were expanded to surrounding areas after terrorists failed to respond to speculative firing from security forces following an initial initial exchange of gunfire on Sunday.

A breakthrough came on Tuesday when a local woman informed police that two men dressed in Army uniforms had approached her for water while eating in the area. This led to an immediate tightening of security, with the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway in the Samba-Kathua section placed under heightened vigilance. Officials also increased monitoring along border roads.

Search operations spanned multiple locations, from Sanyal to Ding Amb, covering several kilometres. The operation is being conducted jointly by the Army, National Security Guard (NSG), Border Security Force (BSF), police, Special Operations Group (SOG), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Security teams, supported by helicopters, UAVs, drones, bulletproof vehicles, and sniffer dogs, are using advanced surveillance and technical equipment.

Officials stated that multiple individuals have been questioned, with three suspects detained for interrogation.

During the search operation on Tuesday, security forces recovered two grenades. The tracksuits found among a large cache of ammunition and other materials in the Sanyal forests were identical to those worn by the four Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terrorists killed in the Assar forests and Doda in June and August last year.

Local people in the areas have joined the operation by security forces and urged those living in other areas to remain vigilant and inform of any movement of suspected persons in their areas.

Several village heads have requested people to come forward with information about the movement of terrorists in their areas.

The operation, led by DG of J&K Police Nalin Prabhat, was launched on Sunday evening in the Hiranagar sector following an encounter between security forces and terrorists hiding in a nursery.

The Special Operations Group (SOG) of police initiated the operation after receiving intelligence about terrorists hiding inside a ''dhok'' (local enclosure) in a nursery in Sanyal village, approximately five km from the International Border with Pakistan, officials said.

The hiding terrorists opened fire on the police team, resulting in a gunfight lasting over half an hour. Reinforcements were promptly dispatched as a manhunt began to apprehend the terrorists believed to have infiltrated on Saturday via either a ravine route or a newly constructed tunnel. Initial firing did not cause any casualties, and the area remained under tight security overnight before security forces moved in at dawn, officials said.

Although there had been no further encounters with the terrorists, search parties on Monday discovered four loaded magazines of M4 carbine, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, tracksuits and several packets of food.

The International Border between India and Pakistan is situated in the district, and in the past, terrorists have attempted to sneak into the Indian side over the border.

Recently in Kathua, three civilians -- Darshan Singh, 40, Yogesh Singh, 32, and Varun Singh, 14, - went missing on March 5 while returning from a wedding in Marhoon village.

Their bodies were discovered on March 8 near a waterfall on the edge of an escarpment in a wooded area following an extensive search involving the Army, police, drones, and sniffer dogs.

“The brutal killing of three relatives by terrorists in the Bani area of Kathua is extremely sad as well as a matter of great concern," Union Minister Jitendra Singh said in a post on X.

In the wake of the incident, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan came to Jammu on March 9 and chaired a high-level security meeting regarding the safe and peaceful Amarnath Yatra beginning on July 3 and the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), which is shortly being inaugurated.

The Home Secretary laid emphasis on the security situation in the Jammu division while giving detailed directions on the overall security situation in UT.

Initially confined to the Poonch and Rajouri districts, terrorist activities have spread to other areas of Jammu, including those that were relatively free from such incidents until a few years ago, like the Chenab Valley, which was declared militancy-free and Udhampur and Kathua. In the past, highly trained terrorists have been ambushing vehicles and using grenades and armour-piercing bullets, as well as M4 assault rifles.

Sources said the use of sophisticated weapons by terrorists indicated a significant escalation in the threat level.

Analysts say that over the last couple of years, the Pir Panjal region dividing Kashmir Valley from Jammu has witnessed a surge in militancy as anti-terror operations in Kashmir have pushed terrorists to the mountains where they hide and wait for the right moment to carry out attacks on security forces.

IANS