Kathua encounter: Massive search operation to track down militants enters third day in Jammu and Kashmir

Massive search operation in Kathua forest to track down terrorists, led by DGP Nalin Prabhat, continues for third day.

A massive search operation to track down a group of infiltrating militants continued for the third day in a forested area in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday (March 25, 2025), officials said.

The operation, led by Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, was launched on Sunday (March 23, 2025) evening in the Hiranagar sector following an encounter between security forces and militants hiding in a nursery.

As the security forces moved deep inside the cordoned off area this morning, a barrage of gunfire was heard. However, officials said it was speculative firing resorted by the troops after noticing some suspicious movement.

An Army helicopter was seen hovering over the area as the joint troops of the Army, including commandos equipped with heavy weapons, sniffer dogs, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles continued the search for the militants believed to be trapped in the area, the officials said.

The operation was launched by a Special Operations Group of police after they got intelligence about the presence of militants inside a ‘dhok’ — a local term for an enclosure — in a nursery in Sanyal village, approximately five km from the International Border with Pakistan, officials said.

The hiding militants launched a barrage of fire at the police party, leading to an intense gunfight that lasted for more than half-an-hour, they said. Reinforcements were swiftly dispatched, as a manhunt was launched to apprehend the militants, believed to have infiltrated on Saturday (March 22) 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 a tight security cordon throughout the night before the security forces moved in at the crack of dawn, officials said.