Action struck in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, where four police personnel made the ultimate sacrifice during a fierce encounter with terrorists. The operation also saw two terrorists being neutralised while a search is ongoing for three to four more who are still hiding. Five security personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, sustained injuries and are receiving treatment at a hospital.

For the past five days, the Army, National Security Guard, Border Security Force, Police, Special Operations Group, and Central Reserve Police Force have been conducting searches in the area. An exchange of fire occurred on Sunday, and on Tuesday, a resident told the police that two men in army uniforms had requested her water while eating food in the area.

On Thursday, police officers bravely entered deep into the forests, where they found themselves in an intense, close-range battle with heavily armed terrorists, resulting in casualties among them. During the fierce gunfight, security forces managed to eliminate two terrorists. However, before neutralising them, four policemen lost their lives in action, and five others sustained injuries, according to an official involved in the operation.

"So far, we have not retrieved bodies of fallen cops due to adverse terrain and the presence of more terrorists there," stated an official. 

Jammu and Kashmir Police Director General Nalin Prabhat is leading a primary anti-terror operation in Kathua. He confirmed that two terrorists had been killed and expressed confidence that the remaining ones hiding in the area would also be eliminated. An intense shootout unfolded on Sunday in the Sanyal forests, where at least five terrorists were cornered. Despite being pinned down, they managed to break free and flee to Juthana, 20 kilometres away. In their haste, they left behind a telling clue: magazines from US-made M4 rifles, revealing that they were armed with advanced weaponry. 

By Thursday morning, police tracked them down in the Juthana forests, leading to another intense gun battle.

The operation was carried out with the support of helicopters, drones, bulletproof vehicles, and sniffer dogs. Security agencies questioned several individuals and detained three suspects. On Tuesday, the forces recovered two grenades along with other materials. According to a report by IANS, tracksuits found among a large cache of ammunition in the Sanyal forests matched those worn by four Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terrorists who were killed in the Assar forests and Doda in June and August last year.

Authorities believe the terrorists infiltrated India on Saturday.