Jammu, Feb 22 (IANS) A top commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit was among the two terrorists killed by the joint forces in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Sunday.

Nagrota-based Army’s White Knight Corps said on X, “TWO TERRORISTS KILLED | OPERATION TRASHI-1 Pursuant to credible intelligence inputs collated from #JKP, #IB and own intelligence sources, a deliberate joint operation was launched in the Kishtwar region under Operation Trashi-I to track and neutralise terrorists operating in the area.”

“Following successful contact established earlier, troops of CIF Delta #WhiteKnightCorps, in close coordination with @JmuKmrPolice and #CRPF, re-engaged the terrorists today at approximately 11:00 AM in challenging terrain. Displaying tactical precision, seamless synergy and resolute aggression, troops dominated the encounter site wherein two terrorists have been successfully neutralised. War-like stores including 02 x AK-47 rifles have also been recovered,” the post further said.

The Army said that the “hunt continued”, and those who seek to disturb peace will find no sanctuary.

“We Serve, We protect!” the post read.

An official said that one top JeM commander was killed during the gunfight with a joint team of J&K Police, two Para of the Army, and the CRPF.

“However, the body of the slain terrorist is being retrieved,” officials said.

This is the second encounter in this area this month. Earlier, a gunfight broke out in the same densely forested area on February 4.

More than a dozen encounters have taken place during the last year between the security forces and the terrorists in the Chatroo area of Kishtwar.

It is believed that a group of foreign terrorists are operating in the area, who keep on changing locations between Kishtwar, Doda and Udhampur districts.

The Army, J&K Police and the CRPF are on a hot chase of this group of Pakistani terrorists, and it is precisely because of the intense trail that the group is moving from one place to another instead of trying to attack the security forces.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has given clear orders for neutralisation of Pakistani terrorists in the hilly districts of the Jammu division.

The Union Home Minister called for a mission-mode approach to usher in complete peace in the union territory during his last visit to Jammu on February 7.

–IANS

sq/dpb