Image Source: Agencies

A day after an Army soldier was killed in a battle with terrorists who were holed up in the region, security personnel resumed their search Monday in the dense forests of Keshwan and surrounding areas in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir.

For more than four days, security guards have been searching the forest region for the terrorists who killed and kidnapped two Village Defence Guards (VDGs) last Thursday.

When combined Army and police search groups apprehended the terrorists in the Keshwan woodland region at approximately 11 a.m. on Sunday, the conflict began. Over four hours passed during the firefight.

In the gunfight, Army 2 Para's Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar, a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), was killed and three other troops were wounded.

Since Sunday's encounter, officials stated there has not been any new communication with the terrorists.

They claimed that three to four of the terrorists who carried out the murders are still hiding in the area and that a thorough search is being conducted to find and eliminate them.

The officials went on to say that the security forces pursuing the terrorists' track are hampered by the difficult terrain and dense vegetation.

VDGs Nazir Ahamed and Kuldeep Kumar were kidnapped by terrorists on Thursday night and killed in the neighboring Kuntwara forest.