One terrorist killed in J&K's Rajouri; encounter going on

An unidentified militant was killed in an encounter with security forces on Sunday following a search operation in the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, officials said.

The encounter started when terrorists opened fire on a joint search party of the Army and police in the forest area of Dori Maal near Barote Gali in Manjakote area, they said.

The encounter was still going on when last reports were received, the officials said.

They said the search operation was launched in the area and in parts of Thanamandi in the early hours of Sunday after intelligence inputs suggested movement by a fresh group of terrorists who managed to sneak into this side and were hiding in the forest area.

The identity and group affiliation of the slain terrorist were yet to be ascertained, the officials said.

The twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region have witnessed a spurt in infiltration attempts since June this year, resulting in the killing of nine terrorists in separate encounters.

Three soldiers also laid down their lives in the earlier operations.