Anti-terror operation intensified in J&K’s Kathua

Intense search operation against infiltrating terrorists in Kathua district enters second day with no casualties reported.

The search operation against a group of infiltrating terrorists in the dense jungles of Kathua district of Jammu region entered the second day on Monday (March 24, 2025), officials said.

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The operation led by Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat was intensified with additional deployment of commandos, drones and sniffer dogs this morning as security forces carried out searches in the dense nursery where the terrorists are believed hiding after infiltrating from across the border, they said.

The operation was launched following an intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists inside a 'dhok' — a local term for an enclosure — located within the nursery in Sanyal village, approximately five km from the International Border with Pakistan.

A police team from the Special Operations Group initiated the search operation after receiving the input and when the personnel entered the area, they came under heavy fire from the terrorists, leading to an intense gunfight which lasted for more than half-an-hour.

Reinforcements were swiftly dispatched to aid in the operation, as a manhunt was launched to apprehend the terrorists, believed to have infiltrated on Saturday via either the ravine route or through a newly created tunnel.

There has been no report of any casualty in the initial firing and the area was kept under tight security cordon throughout the night before the security forces moved in from different directions with the first light of the day on Monday, the officials said. They said there was no fresh contact with the terrorists so far.