Kathua: At least three Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) personnel lost their lives during an intense gunfight with infiltrating terrorists in the dense forests of Ghati Juthana, Kathua district.

The officials said that two terrorists were killed in the onslaught led by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and assisted by the Army, the BSF and CRPF.

It was not immediately clear whether it was the same group that had been evading an earlier cordon in Sanyal forest of Kathua region or another batch of freshly infiltrated terrorists.

The encounter triggered intense firing and explosions, the officials said.

The gunfight, centred near Jakhole village in the Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh, involved a group of approximately five terrorists and an initial exchange of gunfire resulted in injuries to Special Police Officer Bharat Chalotra, who sustained facial wounds.

He was treated at a Kathua hospital before being transferred to Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu, where his condition was stated to be stable.

Adding to the tension, three security personnel, including a Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), were reportedly trapped near the gunfight's location, adjacent to a rivulet concealed by dense foliage.

The officials said a clear picture would emerge only after the ongoing encounter ended.