Exchange of fire in Basantgarh Tehsil of J&K’s Udhampur

A brief exchange of fire was reported in Sang Police Picket of Basantgarh Tehsil of Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district on Wednesday. SSP Udhampur Joginder Singh said that an unknown person, believed to be a militant, fired on a Police Picket at Sang in the Basantgarh area.

After the exchange of fire, the militant fled from the spot by taking advantage of the dark and dense forest, an official was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

More details are awaited.

Meanwhile, security forces intensified their search operations in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, a day after an encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces in the district.

An encounter broke out between militants and security forces in the Sezan forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Tuesday evening, even as the Army, police and CRPF launched a search operation to track down militants involved in the attack on an Army convoy on July 8.

Five soldiers lost their lives while eight soldiers sustained injuries when a group of heavily armed terrorists ambushed a patrolling party of the Army in the Badnota area in Kathua on July 8.

The attack on the Machedi-KindliMalhar road in a remote area, approximately 150 km from Kathua town is believed to be the latest in a series of terrorist incidents in the region, which have been attributed to attempts by Pakistan to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir. The region, the site of the ambush is part of the old infiltration route along the international border, which the attackers appear to have reactivated, officials had said.

The area is primarily monitored by the BSF and falls under the jurisdiction of the 9 Corps of the Army, under the Western Command.