Jammu. Jan 18 : A gunfight started on Sunday between the security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmirâ??s Kishtwar district.

Officials said that an encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces in the Singhpora area of Kishtwar district on Sunday.

â??Security forces launched a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in the area following specific inputs about the presence of terrorists. During the operation, the hiding terrorists opened fire, prompting retaliatory action by the forces, leading to an encounter,â?? they said.

â??Additional reinforcements have been rushed to the spot, and the area has been cordoned off to prevent the terrorists from escaping. Firing exchanges are going on in the area,â?? the officials added.

Hilly districts of Jammu division, including Kathua, Poonch, Rajouri, Kishtwar, Doda, Udhampur and Reasi have been on the scanner of the security forces after intelligence reports that Pakistani terrorists were moving in the highly forested mountain terrain of these districts.

Several times, joint forces have engaged the terrorists in Kathua, Udhampur and other districts in sustained encounters, but somehow the terrorists managed to escape from the cordoned off area, taking cover of the densely forested terrain and darkness during the night.

In the high-level security review meeting concerning Jammu and Kashmir on January 8, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, the presence of terrorists in the hilly districts of Jammu division was discussed threadbare.

HM Shah gave clear orders that coordinated, sustained and intelligence-backed operations must be carried out to eliminate terrorists from the mountainous areas and also ensure zero infiltration of terrorists from across the line of control (LoC) and the international border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir.

The LoC is 740 km long, and the IB is 240 km long in Jammu and Kashmir. The army guards the LoC while the border security force (BSF) guards the IB.

LoC is situated in Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora districts of the Kashmir Valley and partly in Jammu district.

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

/IANS