Search ops continue across Jammu belt, 50 detained

Jammu: Security teams equipped with mountain gear and assisted by drone crews and military dogs are scouring deep forests and high-altitude terrain in the mid-Himalayas straddling Jammu division of J&K to catch or kill suspected Pakistani terrorists responsible for four attacks on June 9, 11, and 12 in three districts of the region.
Authorities have detained 50 local people for questioning regarding the June 9 ambush on a bus carrying pilgrims from Shiv Khori cave shrine to Vaishno Devi temple near Teryath village in Reasi district.The attack resulted in nine deaths and 41 injuries as the bus rolled down the hillside.
J&K DGP RR Swain warned against aiding terrorists, emphasising that Pakistani terrorists have nothing to lose, but locals risk bringing harm to their families. “Some enemy agents are helping terrorists for money and narcotics… They will be identified and dealt with sternly,” he said.
Swain accused Pakistan of escalating violence in J&K, noting that when local recruitment fails, enemy forces recruit people from across the LoC to disrupt peace and cause fatalities in J&K. “Security agencies are mapping their resources to counter foreign terrorism in Jammu region. We will give them a befitting reply,” he said.
The DGP highlighted that terrorism, which had spread to Jammu region in 1995, was eradicated by 2005. However, the recent bus ambush in Reasi, followed by attacks in Kathua and Doda districts, indicates a resurgence.
On June 12, a CRPF constable was killed in a sudden attack on a search team in Doda’s Gandoh area. Earlier that day, five Rashtriya Rifles troopers and a J&K police SPO were wounded in an attack near Chattergala mountain pass in the same district. A villager was wounded, and two suspected Pakistani terrorists armed with an American M4 carbine and AK-17 rifle were killed in a 15-hour counteroffensive on June 11 and 12 in Kathua.