JK: Encounter breaks out in Udhampur, terrorists trapped

An encounter erupted on Wednesday in Jopher village, located north of Khabbal in Udhampur district, after security forces established contact with two to three terrorists, officials said.

Mohammad Rayees Bhat, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Udhampur-Reasi range, said, “Two to three terrorists are trapped and intermittent fire is ongoing. The place is Jopher, north of Khabbal. It is the same area where security forces had sighted terrorists on April 3. They probably belong to the same group that infiltrated from across the border and was first sighted in the forests of Saniyal village in Hiranagar sector on March 23.”

“During a search operation by police and other security forces, contact was established with terrorists at village Jopher in the Ramnagar police station area of Udhampur,” Udhampur police wrote on X.

The ongoing operation is part of a broader counter-terror strategy that has been underway since March 23, when the same group of militants was first spotted in Kathua’s Saniyal area. Following increased terror activity in the region, Udhampur police had ramped up surveillance and combing operations in the Chore Panjwa-Khabbal belt of Majalta block, which borders Kathua.

Security forces have been tracking the movement of terrorists across dense forests and hilly terrain for over 17 days, conducting multiple operations in response to the threat.

Two terrorists and four policemen were killed during a fierce gun battle in the Sufain forest near Jakhole village in Kathua district on March 27.

On April 3, two armed militants on the run entered a house in the Chore Panjwa-Khabbal area, held the family hostage, and forcibly took a mobile phone and food before escaping under the cover of darkness around 10 pm.