Kathua: More army personnel were deployed in the hills and dense forests of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua-Udhampur-Doda belt as the search for the militants behind the ambush on an army patrol in Kathua district entered its fourth day on Thursday.
Since the attack on Monday, which killed five army personnel and injured as many, 60 people have been detained for questioning, including three individuals suspected of providing food and shelter to the militants, officials told PTI.
One of those detained is a woman who cooked food and handed it over to a person, the report said.
The quantity of food prepared was sufficient for “10 to 15 people,” they said. Security agencies suspect that the food was intended for the militants, the officials added.
In Kathua, senior police and Border Security Force officers from Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab met to discuss the security grid along the International Border (IB), from across which the militants are believed to have infiltrated, the officials said.
In the interstate security review meeting, discussions were held on devising a joint strategy for addressing cross-border infiltration along the Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab stretch of the IB and countering terrorist activities in the Jammu region bordering Punjab, they said.
Regarding the search operation, the officials said troops are moving with caution due to the threat of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
The search has been expanded into the hilly areas of Kathua, Udhampur, and Doda districts of the Jammu region, which has seen a spate of such incidents since June.
Troops from the army’s 9 Corps have intensified their presence in the Kathua hills, while the Delta Force of the 16 Corps has moved in more personnel in the twin districts of Udhampur and Doda, focusing on areas like Seoj Dhar.
