Five jawans killed in encounter with terrorists in Rajouri, J&K

Five soldiers have been killed during an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri.

An encounter had broken out between two to three terrorists and security forces on Friday morning in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. The encounter took place in the Kandi forest, additional director general of police, Jammu Zone, Mukesh Singh confirmed.

Officials said that the terrorists belong to the same group that ambushed the Army truck on April 20 in which five soldiers were killed and one more injured.

A cordon and search operation was launched on the basis of specific inputs that the Indian Army had received from the Intelligence agencies. The Intelligence spoke about the specific presence of terrorists in the area.

"On specific information about the presence of terrorists in the Kandi forest in the Rajouri sector, a joint operation was launched. A search team established contact with a group of terrorists well entrenched in a cave. The area is thickly vegetated with rocky and steep cliffs," the Indian Army said in a statement.

As the joint team approached the spot, the terrorists who were hiding fired upon them, which was retaliated, following which the encounter was triggered.

As per reports, terrorists have been trapped in the area. There is a likelihood of casualties in the terrorist group as well. The terrorists are said to have triggered an explosive device in retaliation, which may have led to the casualties on the Army's side, an official also said.

Meanwhile mobile internet services have been suspended in Rajouri, the official also said.