Anti-terrorist Ops continues in J&K's Rajouri, lull after initial firing exchange

Jammu, Oct 8 (IANS) An anti-terrorist operation continued on Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district as no fresh firing exchanges were reported from the area after a brief gunfire exchange between the security forces and terrorists.

The search operation continued on Wednesday in Dhar Sakhri village in Rajouri after an exchange of fire took place between the police and the terrorists on Tuesday evening, officials said, adding that reinforcements were rushed to the area, and since this morning, there has been no exchange of gunfire in the area so far.

Officials said there is no report of any casualty in Tuesday's brief firing between the terrorists and the security forces.

The firing took place when police launched a search operation after getting information about the movement of suspected persons.

The whole area has been put under a strict cordon, and a search operation is continuing. Enforcements of the Army, paramilitary forces, and police have rushed to the spot to maintain a cordon during the night and ensure that the terrorists don’t manage to escape during the night.

Senior officers have also reached the spot. People in the surroundings have been asked to stay inside their houses till the area is cleared of the suspected terrorists.

Meanwhile, security forces also launched a cordon and search operation in the Dharni top area of Basantgarh in Udhampur district on Wednesday.

The operation was launched after some locals reported movement of three suspected terrorists. Movement of terrorists has been noticed in the forest area of Basantgarh earlier, also resulting in encounters.

A top commander of the terrorists, Haider alias Maulvi of Pakistan, was killed in Basantgarh on June 26.

Security forces are carrying out aggressive operations against the terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers across the union territory to dismantle the entire ecosystem of terror.

Drug smugglers, peddlers and those involved in hawala money rackets are also on the scanner of the security forces, as it is believed that funds generated by these operations are finally used to sustain terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

--IANS

sq/dpb