Symbolic Image JAMMU: Security forces on Wednesday intensified anti-terrorist operations in Najote village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district by extending the cordon and cordoning off at least a dozen surrounding villages, officials said. Another similar operation was launched in Rajbagh of Kathua after a resident reported seeing two suspected terrorists.

Based on intelligence input about the presence of terrorists in the area, a cordon and search operation was launched in Najot on Tuesday and intermittent firing was taking place between the security personnel and the militants. The area is located near Kamadh Nala in the Kahog forest belt, where the encounter took place on January 7. Officials said no further contact had been established with militants in Najot after Tuesday’s brief gunfight, and it was suspected that the militants might have managed to escape the cordon by taking advantage of the inaccessible terrain and darkness.

Later, locals reported that a terrorist suspect had taken food from a herdsman in the area around midnight before disappearing into the deep forest. “Subsequently, additional forces were rushed to the spot to strengthen the cordon, which has now been extended to more than a dozen villages around Njote to track and kill the terrorists,” an official said. However, the suspects have not been traced yet, officials said.

On March 28, 2025, four policemen were killed in a fierce gunfight with terrorists in Safyan-Jakhol village, while two Pakistani militants were killed.