The search was extended to the forest areas of Rajouri districts on Thursday afternoon as there was a separate suspicious movement of terrorists.
The joint search operation by the Army and Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K Police was launched in Poonch after the suspicious movement was noticed late on Wednesday. An alert was sounded and search operation launched early on Thursday in deep forest areas.
The searches were specifically conducted in Gursai top area of Poonch district where the movement of suspected terrorists was detected. Sources said that columns of security forces were sent to the area to stop the ultras from escaping.
The forest areas in Poonch are densely forested that give cover to the terrorists to escape after encounters. The security forces also used sniffer dogs and a chopper to look for the group of ultras seen on Wednesday.
In Rajouri, the security forces also launched a cordon and search operation at Kundan and adjoining villages in Shadra Sharief following information about movement of three suspected terrorists in the early hours of Thursday.
On the other hand, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Jammu-based White Knight Corps, Lt General Navin Sachdeva, visited mountainous Doda district to review the security situation in the region that has witnessed encounters during the past few months.
“GOC White Knight Corps alongwith GOC Delta visited Sohanda in Doda sector to review the security situation and operational preparedness. GOC appreciated the unwavering commitment and dedication of all ranks towards maintaining peace and security in the region,” a statement by Army read.
