Firing exchanges took place between the security forces and the terrorists overnight in J&K’s Poonch district, officials said.

Officials said that following intelligence inputs about the presence of a group of terrorists in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district, Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police started a cordon and search operation in Pathanateer area of Gursai top of Mendhar on Saturday evening.

“As the security forces tightened the cordon, hiding terrorists fired at them after which an encounter started.”

“Intermittent firing exchanging are now going on in the area. Reinforcements have been rushed to the spot to augment the strength of the security forces,” officials added.

Voting in Poonch and Rajouri districts is scheduled to be held in the second phase of Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir on September 25.

Hilly districts of Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur in the Jammu division have witnessed terrorist ambush attacks against the Army, security forces and civilians during the last more than two months.

After reports that a group of foreign terrorists, believed to be 40 to 50 in number, are responsible for these attacks, the Army deployed more than 4,000 trained soldiers from the elite Para commandos and those trained in mountain warfare inside the densely forested areas of those districts.

Terrorists used element of surprise to carry out ambush attacks and then disappear in the forests of these hilly areas.

The deployment of Army and the CRPF together with the strengthening of the village defence committees managed by local residents, has deprived the terrorists of using the element of surprise to carry out such attacks.

After the security forces started aggressively going after the terrorists both in the Jammu division and the Kashmir Valley, the terrorists are now increasingly being engaged in exchange of firing with the security forces.

“They either get killed during such encounters or remain on the run. This prevents them from surprising the security forces by carrying out sly attacks,” a senior police officer said.

Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Reasi, Poonch, Udhampur, Kathua, Jammu and Samba districts of Jammu division are going to vote in second and third phase of Assembly polls in the Union Territory on September 25 and October 1 respectively.