Kamal Ghorui
JAMMU: Operation Trashi-I entered its fourth day on Wednesday, as security forces continued to comb the dense forests of Sonnar, Mandral-Singhpora, and adjoining areas in Chatroo belt in J&K’s Kishtwar district to track and kill fleeing terrorists. Searches were intensified in the target area, even as additional forces were rushed to the operation site to fortify the cordon and block possible escape routes, officials said.Meanwhile, amid enhanced vigil ahead of Republic Day, local police, SOG, and CRPF jointly conducted door-to-door searches in localities with a high concentration of Burmese (Rohingyas) and Bangladesh nationals in Bhatindi-Narwal-Rajiv Nagar areas on the outskirts of Jammu on Wednesday. Similar checks were also carried out in Rajouri, Poonch, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Doda districts as a precautionary measure, officials said, adding that none was detained.Operation Trashi-I was launched late Sunday based on intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in Chatroo. Eight soldiers suffered grenade splinter and bullet wounds when ultras ambushed the search party in dense forests near Sonnar, close to the LoC, triggering an encounter that lasted overnight. Among them, Army Special Forces Commando, Havildar Gajendra Singh, succumbed Monday.On Tuesday morning, the cordon was strengthened with the help of aerial surveillance and sniffer dogs. Troops subsequently busted a well-concealed terrorist hideout in Kishtwar’s upper reaches and recovered large quantities of rations, utensils, and consumables. Three-four locals from Sonnar village were detained for questioning, as officials suspected that running such a setup would not have been possible without local help from overground workers.Havildar Singh was the first security personnel to die in a counter-terrorism operation in the Union Territory in 2026. Operation Trashi-I is the third this year in Jammu division, following clashes earlier this month in Kahog and Najote forests of Billawar in Kathua, south of Pir Panjal range.Kishtwar, a remote district east of the Chenab and south of Kashmir Valley, saw intensified counter-terrorism efforts in 2025 as forces tracked Pakistan-based terrorists through steep terrain and thick forests. At least six gun battles were reported there over seven months. On May 22, an Army trooper was killed and two others wounded in Chatroo. Weeks earlier, three Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were shot dead in the same area.Security officials said Kishtwar sits astride a traditional infiltration corridor, with terrorists crossing from Pakistan via Kathua and moving through Udhampur and Doda before heading towards Kashmir valley, using forest cover to evade detection.
