Security forces on Tuesday launched a massive search operation after receiving inputs about the suspected movement of terrorists at two locations in the remote Surankote area of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said.
Acting on the information, personnel of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, assisted by troops of the Rashtriya Rifles, launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Dhara Sangla, Gujjar Naar and Kherowali Dhok areas, along with adjoining forested villages, the officials said.
They said the operation was initiated following reports suggesting the movement of two separate groups of suspected terrorists in the densely forested region.
No contact had been established with the suspected terrorists so far, the officials said, adding the operation was continuing, with security personnel carrying out systematic searches to trace the suspects.
In another development, an old rusted mortar shell was recovered from the courtyard of a house near the International Border in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district on Tuesday morning, officials said.
The unexploded shell came to light when labourers engaged in excavation work at the residence of Subash Chander in Kattal-Brahmana village noticed the suspicious object and immediately alerted the authorities, the officials said.
They said a police team, accompanied by the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), rushed to the spot, secured the area and safely removed the mortar shell for disposal.