JAMMU: Security forces on Wednesday intensified the ongoing anti-terror operation in Najote village in J&K’s Kathua district by extending cordon to at least a dozen surrounding villages, officials said. Another such operation was launched in Rajbagh, also in Kathua, after a local resident reported sighting two terror suspects.The cordon and search operation in Najote was launched on Tuesday based on intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area and there was intermittent gunfire between security personnel and Ultras. The region is near Kamadh Nallah in the Kahog forest belt, where an eruption occurred on January 7.Officials said no further contact was made with the terrorists in Najote after Tuesday’s brief firefight and it was suspected that the Ultras may have managed to escape the cordon by taking advantage of the treacherous terrain and darkness.Locals later reported that a terror suspect took food from a shepherd in the area around midnight before disappearing into the deep forest. “Subsequently, additional forces were sent to the spot to strengthen the cordon, which has now been extended to over a dozen villages around Najote, to track down and kill the terrorists,” an official said.The J&K Police SOG on Wednesday launched a fresh cordon and search operation in Rajbagh’s Jakhole Baira and adjoining villages after a villager reported spotting two suspected terrorists near his cattle shed. However, the suspects have not been located so far, officials said.On March 28, 2025, four policemen were killed while two Pakistani ultras were shot dead in a fierce gun battle with terrorists in Safiyan-Jakhole village.
