Encounters in Kishtwar, Udhampur; officials say Machail Yatra not affected

Jammu: Two encounters broke out between security forces and terrorists in remote forest areas in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar and Udhampur districts on Sunday, officials said.

They said the encounter in Kishtwar had no impact on the annual Machail Mata Yatra in the Paddar area and assured pilgrims visiting the shrine that adequate security arrangements were in place.

The gunfight in Kishtwar took place for a brief period when police assisted by the army and paramilitary forces launched a search operation in Nownatta, Naagseni Peyaas and adjoining areas following information about the movement of terrorists, the officials said.

Reinforcements have been rushed to the area and an operation is underway to hunt down the terrorists who have fled deep into the forest.

The encounter in Kishtwar comes a day after two army personnel -- Havaldar Dipak Kumar Yadav and Lance Naik Praveen Sharma -- and a civilian were killed and five others injured in a fierce gunfight in the woods of Kokernag in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.

On the annual Machail Mata Yatra in the Paddar area, an official said the movement of pilgrims was only paused briefly following the encounter.

"In the morning a search operation was launched at Peyaas in Naagseni. As a precautionary measure, traffic and movement of pilgrims were stopped. After a brief pause, both the pilgrimage and traffic movement resumed smoothly. There is no need for panic," an official said.

He said the district administration has urged all pilgrims to continue their journey with confidence as all necessary security measures have been put in place to ensure their safety.

The Machail Mata Yatra started on July 25 and is scheduled to conclude on September 5. So far over one lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the revered shrine.

The officials said security forces also established contact with terrorists in the forests of Basantgarh in Udhampur district on Sunday evening.

A few rounds were exchanged between the two sides in Khaned forest but there was no report of any casualty, they said, adding the area has been cordoned off and a fresh search of the area will be started Monday morning.

This was the second encounter between terrorists and security search parties in the area in the past five days.