Security forces launch final assault against holed up terrorist in Reasi

Jammu: Heavy gunfire rattled a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district where an over 20-hour-long operation to neutralise a holed up terrorist entered second day on Tuesday, officials said. While one terrorist was killed and two security personnel injured in the initial gunfight on Monday, efforts are on to neutralise the second terrorist who had taken shelter inside a house at Gali Sohab village in Tuli area, they said. They said the intermittent firing continued throughout the night as security forces further tightened the cordon around the target house. Intense firing was reported from the scene when security forces attempted to storm the house this morning, the officials said, adding there was no report of any fresh casualty. The encounter broke out around 2 pm on Monday when the joint troops of police, Army and CRPF zeroed in on the house where the terrorists had taken shelter at gun-point during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. After getting information about the presence of the terrorists, security forces after trekking for over four hours reached the village and cornered the terrorists who opened indiscriminate firing in a vain bid to escape the security dragnet, the officials said. The identity and group affiliation of the slain terrorists would be known once the operation is over, the officials said. The border district of Poonch along with nearby Rajouri has witnessed several encounters this year, resulting in the killing of around 20 terrorists and 10 security personnel. Most of the terrorists were killed while attempting to sneak into this side from across the border, the officials said. (PTI)