Operation Sohan: Two terrorists killed in joint op in J&K's Udhampur

2 terrorists killed in J&K (Representative image)

NEW DELHI: Two terrorists were neutralised during an overnight counter-terrorism operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district, the Army said on Thursday.The operation, code-named Operation Sohan, was launched during the intervening night of September 16 and 17 following confirmed intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the general area of Brattal, the Army’s White Knight Corps said.

Despite hostile weather, difficult terrain and poor visibility, troops of the White Knight Corps, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a targeted operation in the area, the Army said.Official said that a joint search operation was launched in the remote Bratel Soan and Khubban areas of Majalta around 9 pm on Wednesday following information about the movement of suspected terrorists.A few rounds of firing and blasts, reportedly carried out by security forces while targeting a suspected hideout, were heard in the forest shortly after the operation began, officials said.The area remained largely quiet through the night before the lull ended on Thursday morning, when the terrorists opened heavy fire in an attempt to break the security forces’ cordon.Security forces retaliated, triggering an encounter that continued in the forested area.

The Army later said the operation resulted in the neutralisation of two terrorists. Search and surveillance operations are continuing in the area, while security forces remain deployed to track and neutralise any remaining threat, the White Knight Corps said.The operation comes amid heightened security activity in the Pir Panjal region following the recent busting of an alleged overground worker (OGW) network linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Rajouri.On September 15, Rajouri Police arrested three people in connection with an alleged terror module operating in the Pir Panjal region. According to police, the three were allegedly involved in providing logistical support, safe transit and other ground-level assistance to terrorists operating in the region.

Preliminary investigation found that the accused allegedly worked as guides and helped facilitate the movement of terrorist groups towards the Kashmir Valley, police said.

They were also suspected of providing ground support to terrorists linked to multiple high-profile attacks, including an attack targeting civilians.Police also recovered an improvised explosive device (IED) based on information provided by one of the accused.According to officials, preliminary findings indicated that the IED had allegedly been handed over to the accused by members of a terrorist group for safe custody and possible use in a targeted attack.The recovery of the IED and the arrests have provided investigators with leads into the wider terror network operating in the region, police said.