NEW DELHI: Another policeman was martyred in an encounter with Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists hiding in the forests of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir. With this, the number of policemen who have lost their lives has reached four. Meanwhile, the army has killed one more terrorist in the encounter.

On the 23rd, the terrorists who infiltrated the Pakistani border were hiding in the forests in the Sufain area of ​​Kathua. The army, NSG, BSF, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police were conducting a joint search operation when the terrorists attacked using grenades and rockets. The encounter, which began at 8 am on Thursday, continued into the night. More soldiers were brought in by helicopter. Initial reports said that three policemen were martyred. The body of a missing person was recovered during a search operation using a drone.

Seven security personnel, including a DSP, were injured. They were shifted to hospitals in Kathua and Jammu. Five policemen, including a sub-divisional police officer, who were trapped at the encounter site, were later rescued.

Five terrorists had clashed with the police on patrol near Sanyal village in Hiranagar sector, which borders Pakistan, on Sunday evening. The group that escaped from there hid in the forest in Sufain, 35 km away.

A search operation was then conducted with the help of bulletproof vehicles, drones and sniffer dogs. During the search, four magazines loaded with bullets, two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, sleeping bags, track suits and materials for making IEDs were recovered. The villagers had said that some of them had come asking for water. During the investigation, it was found that the terrorists were hiding in huts built by nomadic shepherds. The search operation was then started under the supervision of DGP Nalin Prabhat and Jammu Zone IG Bhim Sen Tuti.