Jammu, Sep 22 : Joint forces on Monday started an anti-terrorist operation in J&K's Kathua district after two suspected terrorists were seen in a local village, officials said.

Officials said that the joint forces started the operation in the Malhar area of Kathua after the suspected terrorists were sighted in Dragal village.

"Army, J&K Police and the CRPF are conducting a CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) in the area to locate the suspected terrorists. The operation was started after inputs about the movement of two armed terrorists," an official said.

Joint forces are combing the forest area in Malhar employing sniffer dogs, surveillance equipment, including drones, etc.

Officials said searches are being carried out in many villages adjoining Dragal village after all exit points were sealed successfully.

"Locals have been advised to stay indoors and report any suspicious movement to joint forces as the safety of civilians in the area is the top priority of the security forces," an official said.

Joint forces are carrying out aggressive operations against terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers across the UT.

Drug smugglers and peddlers are also on the radar of the security forces, as it is believed by intelligence agencies that funds generated from hawala money rackets and drug smuggling are finally used to sustain terrorism in J&K.

The revised strategy of the joint forces is to dismantle the entire ecosystem of terror rather than just the elimination of the gun-wielding terrorists.

While the army guards the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) in J&K and the Border Security Force (BSF) keeps vigil at the 240-km-long International Border (IB), police and the paramilitary forces are dealing with terrorism in the hinterland.

The LoC runs across Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora districts in the Valley and Poonch, Rajouri, and parts of Jammu district in the Jammu division.

The IB is situated in the Jammu, Kathua, and Samba districts of the Jammu division.

/IANS