Jammu, 14 January (H.S.): Security forces on Wednesday stepped up an ongoing search operation by extending the cordon to track down and neutralise terrorists in remote villages of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, officials said.

Several gunshots were heard when the security forces launched the operation in the Najote forest area in Billawar tehsil on Tuesday based on information about the presence of a terrorist there.

There was no contact between the terrorist and the security forces. Fresh inputs suggested that he managed to escape the cordon by taking advantage of the treacherous terrain and darkness, the officials said.

He took food from a shepherd in a nearby area around midnight before moving deep into the forest, they said.

Reinforcements have been fanned out in different directions and more than a dozen villages around Najote have been cordoned off to track down the terrorist and his associates, they added.

According to the officials, Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) also launched a cordon and search operation in Jakhole Baira and adjoining villages in the Rajbagh area after a local reported suspicious movement of two persons near his cattle shed.

However, no trace of the suspicious persons has been found so far, the officials said.

Ahead of Republic Day, security has been tightened across the Jammu region, particularly in border villages and high-altitude areas, to curb terrorist activities.

Frequent drone intrusions from across the border over the past few days have also emerged as a major security concern, prompting the deployment of additional forces at vulnerable locations.

Intensified patrolling, area domination exercises and night surveillance are being carried out to prevent any infiltration attempt or airdropping of arms and narcotics, the officials said.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar