At least two Pakistani terrorists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in J&K’s Kathua district on Thursday when a fresh encounter broke out in the area.

Five security forces personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Dheeraj Katoch, were injured in the encounter. Condition of two of the injured security forces personnel was stated to be serious.

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A massive anti-terrorist operation was underway for the last five days, officials said.

Katoch, who is posted as DSP (Border) in the Special Operations Group (SOG), and others were injured during the gunfight at Ghati Juthana in Kathua. They were immediately shifted to the hospital for treatment.

Reports said that an exchange of fire broke out after some terrorists were spotted in the area. The area has been cordoned by security forces.

The gunfight erupted when the security forces spotted the terrorists in Ghati Juthana area of Rajbagh. Reinforcements of the Army, J&K Police and CRPF have been rushed and further details are awaited.

Senior Army officers, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu and Inspector General (IG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) visited the encounter site to assess the ongoing anti-terrorist operation.

Drones and sniffer dogs have been deployed to track down the terrorists in the forest area.

The terrorists are believed to be of the same group that escaped after an encounter in the Hiranagar sector of the district last Sunday evening.

The border district of Kathua has lately become a terrorist hotspot, emerging as a major infiltrating route for Pakistan-based terrorists. From here, terrorists move to higher reaches of the Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar districts and further move to Kashmir.

The security forces were combing the Hiranagar area for the past five days and the terrorists are believed to have slipped towards the Kathua town. Inputs then suggested that there are at least two groups of 5 to 6 terrorists who managed to infiltrate on 22 March.

A village woman collecting firewood on 23 March reported seeing around five heavily-armed terrorists who had sought refuge in the expansive nursery area in Saniyal village, approximately five kilometres from the International Border with Pakistan.

During a search operation on Tuesday, security forces recovered grenades, M-4 ammunition and eatables. The tracksuits found among the cache in the Saniyal forests were identical to those worn by the four Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terrorists killed in the Assar forests and Doda in June and August last year.