The foot soldiers of the Indian army are relentlessly combing the dense forest areas of Kishtwar to

avenge the killing of an elite para commando and two members of the village Defence Group (VDG) targeted last week.

The terrorists on the run made the last contact with the security forces on Sunday.

The Indian army has deployed special forces equipped with the latest weapons, drones, and night vision devices to flush them out of their safe hideouts. Tracker dogs, other electronic surveillance equipment, and helicopters have also been pressed to detect the presence of terrorists hiding in the area.

The anti-terrorist operation was launched in the area on Thursday after the dead bodies of two VDG members were found lying in a pool of blood in the Kuntwara forest area of Kishtwar.

A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar of the Army's 2 Para, was martyred and three other soldiers injured in a gunfight with the terrorists in Keshwan forest on Sunday, while two VDGs - Nazir Ahamed and Kuldeep Kumar - were abducted and shot dead in nearby Kuntwara forest on Thursday evening.

On Tuesday GoC-in-C of the Udhampur-based Northern Command headquarters Lt Gen M V Sudhindra Kumar visited the White Knight Corps here to review the ongoing operations in the region to flush out the foreign terrorists holed up in the area. In a post on X, Army's Northern Command said Lt Gen Kumar visited the White Knight Corps, also known as XVI corps, to review the operational preparedness.

"The Army Cdr (commander) exhorted all ranks to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and alertness in anti-terrorist operations," the post read.

Security officials said the massive search operation in Keshwan, Kuntwara and adjoining forest areas in Kishtwar district entered the sixth day on Tuesday to track down and neutralize a group of holed-up terrorists responsible for recent killings.

"There was no fresh contact with the terrorists despite the intensified search operation," an official said.

According to security officials, terror attacks have killed 44 people, including 18 security personnel, in Jammu this year with the strikes spreading from the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch to six other areas in the troubled region.

In Kashmir, a firefight was raging between terrorists and the security forces in the Nagmarg forest area of Bandipora.

According to a Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, "On 12 Nov 24, based on specific intelligence input regarding presence of terrorists, a Joint Operation launched by the Indian Army & Jammu and Kashmir police in general area Nagmarg, Bandipora. Suspicious activity was observed by vigilant troops and on being challenged terrorists opened indiscriminate fire". The army said that its troops effectively retaliated. The operation was still in progress at the time of filing this report.