A brief exchange of fire was reported in the Sang Police Picket of Basantgarh Tehsil in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district on Wednesday evening, according to officials.
SSP Udhampur Joginder Singh confirmed that an unidentified person, suspected to be a militant, fired upon a police picket in the Basantgarh area. Following the exchange, the militant escaped into the dense forest under the cover of darkness. Further details are awaited as the situation develops.
In a related development, security forces have intensified search operations in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir following an encounter between terrorists and security forces on Tuesday evening. The confrontation occurred in the Sezan forest area, involving the Army, police, and CRPF, who were tracking down militants responsible for an attack on an Army convoy on July 8.
During the July 8 attack, heavily armed terrorists ambushed an Army patrolling party in the Badnota area of Kathua, resulting in the deaths of five soldiers and injuries to eight others.
The ambush on the Machedi-KindliMalhar road, about 150 km from Kathua town, is considered part of a broader effort by Pakistan to destabilize the region. Officials believe the attackers utilized an old infiltration route along the international border, which appears to have been reactivated.
The area where the ambush occurred is primarily monitored by the BSF and falls under the jurisdiction of the 9 Corps of the Army, under the Western Command. The increased security measures reflect ongoing efforts to address and mitigate the threat of militant activity in the region.
