J&K: 3 terrorists killed, civilian hostage rescued in encounter
What's the story
In an encounter that lasted nearly five hours, three out of five terrorists were killed by the Indian Army and a hostage was rescued in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban region. However, two terrorists are still at large. Notably, one army personnel has lost his life and two policemen have been injured in the massive operation. Separately, a terrorist was earlier killed in Kashmir's Ganderbal.
Encounter
Terrorists attempted stopping a passenger bus; search operation was launched
Reportedly, it all started when these terrorists attempted to stop a passenger bus on the Jammu-Srinagar highway at around 7:30 AM. After the driver informed forces, they launched a search operation. Facing retaliation, the terrorists took refuge at a civilian's residence. Subsequently, security forces cordoned off the area, traffic movement from Jammu and Ramban side was halted, and locals were told to stay indoors.
Another encounter
Earlier today, a terrorist was killed in Kashmir's Ganderbal area
Meanwhile in another incident today, an unidentified terrorist was killed by the Army in Kashmir's Ganderbal area. A weapon was also recovered from the scene. "An encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces in the Trumkhal area, this morning," an Army official said. It is being suspected that the terrorists might have infiltrated India from Gurez side, since it's near the LoC.
Information
The standoff comes days after warning from intelligence agencies
To note, the encounter comes just days after several intelligence agencies warned the government that at least 60 terrorists have infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir in the past few weeks, and as many as 500 more might soon infiltrate.
Article 370
Pakistan-based terrorism expected to rise because of abysmal India-Pak relations
On a related note, terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed's camp in Pakistan's Balakot, which was bombed by Indian Air Force (IAF) has been reactivated, Army Chief Bipin Rawat recently announced. Moreover, Pakistan-based terror threats and infiltrations are expected to rise because of abysmal diplomatic and military relations between the neighboring countries ever since the scrapping of Article 370, that ended the special status given to J&K.