Jammu, Jan 20 (NationPress) Several locals have been detained for interrogation as an anti-terror operation reached its third day in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

Authorities reported that the operation is being conducted in Sonnar village of the Mandal-Singhpora area in Chatroo.

An Army paratrooper lost his life after militants opened fire on a joint security forces team during an initial encounter on Sunday.

In that confrontation, seven other soldiers sustained injuries and are currently receiving medical care at a hospital.

According to officials, the terrorists fled into dense forest areas, but their well-established hideout was discovered, containing a substantial stock of winter supplies such as food, blankets, and cooking utensils.

Senior commanders, including IGP Jammu Zone Bhim Sen Tuti and IG CRPF Jammu R. Gopala Krishna Rao, have arrived at the scene and are overseeing the ongoing operation with numerous Army officers.

A wreath-laying ceremony was conducted to honor the fallen Special Force Commando, Havildar Gajendra Singh, this morning.

Brigadier Yudhvir Singh Sekhon, acting Chief of Staff of the White Knight Corps, led the tribute at Satwari, after which the soldier's remains were sent to his hometown in Uttarakhand for final rites. The ceremony was attended by DIG Jammu-Kathua-Samba range, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Rakesh Minhas, and various police, CRPF, and BSF officials.

On Monday afternoon, several individuals were taken in for questioning regarding the hideout's discovery, which is situated at an elevation of over 12,000 feet.

Security personnel are working to identify the overground workers (OGWs) who aided the terrorists in gathering and moving large amounts of supplies sufficient to sustain at least four individuals throughout the winter season.

In a statement on X, the Army’s White Knight Corps confirmed that Operation Trashi-I remains active in Chatroo. “The cordon has been reinforced and search operations have been expanded. Troops, along with the Police and CRPF, are actively engaged in the area,” the Army stated.

Officials noted that multiple teams from the Army, police, and paramilitary forces are using drones and sniffer dogs to search the area, despite the challenging conditions posed by thick vegetation and steep inclines.

It is believed that a group of two to three terrorists affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), based in Pakistan, are trapped in the vicinity.

This incident represents the third engagement between security forces and terrorists in the Jammu region this year, with previous encounters occurring in the Kahog and Najote forests of the Kathua district on January 7 and 13.

On December 15 of last year, a police officer lost his life during an encounter with militants in the Soan village, located within Udhampur district.

The terrorists managed to escape by utilizing the cover of dense foliage and darkness.

These encounters follow a significant counter-terrorism initiative launched in December aimed at eliminating nearly three dozen terrorists holed up within the forested regions of Jammu.

Authorities have ramped up operations ahead of Republic Day to ensure peaceful celebrations, amid intelligence reports of efforts by Pakistan-based operatives to infiltrate more terrorists into the region.

Hilly areas within the Jammu division, including Kathua, Poonch, Rajouri, Kishtwar, Doda, Udhampur, and Reasi, have been under close surveillance due to intelligence indicating that Pakistani terrorists are active in the densely forested mountainous regions.

Joint forces have engaged terrorists in sustained confrontations across Kathua, Udhampur, and other districts, but the militants have consistently managed to evade capture, utilizing the cover of thick forests and nighttime darkness.

In a high-level security review meeting held on January 8, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, the presence of terrorists in the hilly districts of Jammu was thoroughly discussed.

Amit Shah emphasized that coordinated, sustained, and intelligence-driven operations must be executed to eradicate terrorists from these mountainous areas and to prevent any infiltration from across the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir.

The LoC spans 740 km, while the IB extends 240 km in Jammu and Kashmir, with the Army responsible for guarding the LoC and the Border Security Force (BSF) overseeing the IB.

The LoC is located in Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora districts within the Valley and partially in Jammu district, while the IB is situated in Samba, Kathua, and Jammu districts within the Jammu division.