SRINAGAR: J&K Police has set up 19 specialized counter-terror units across eight out of the ten districts in the Jammu division to tackle the rising incidents of terrorism.
The decision to form these units—each led by an officer of the rank of Deputy SP—was made recently. These units are modelled after the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Special Operation Group, which was largely disbanded in most areas of the Jammu division after peace was restored in the mid-2000s, a senior police officer told The New Indian.
The units will be stationed in areas with notable terrorist activity, such as Malhar and Bani in Kathua district, where five soldiers were killed, and five others injured in a terrorist attack on an Army convoy in Badnota village near Machedi on July 9.
A unit will be deployed in each of the following areas: Pouni-Ransoo, Mahore, Chassana, and Gulabgarh in Reasi district, as well as Baffliaz-Behramgalla, Mandi-Loran, and Gursai in Poonch district.
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According to sources, one unit will also be stationed in Latti and Pancheri in Udhampur district, Desa-Kastigarh and Assar in Doda district, Dachhan and Drabshalla in Kishtwar district, Kalakote in Rajouri district, and Ramsoo, Chanderkote-Batote, and Sangaldan-Dharamkund in Ramban district.
Meanwhile, SP Operations have also been assigned to several regions.
These include SP Operations Border & Kandi in Kathua, Kishtwar, Arnas (Reasi), Thannamandi (Rajouri), Dudu (Udhampur), Upper Kathua, and Budhal (Rajouri).
The region has witnessed an upsurge in terror attacks on security forces since June. On Wednesday, Army Captain Deepak Singh and a terrorist were killed in an encounter in the Assar forest area of Doda.
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Security forces are conducting search operations to locate a group of terrorists hiding in forested areas. In addition, operations are ongoing in the forests of Udhampur, Kathua, Kishtwar, and Reasi districts.
In July, police created a new special force of 960 young recruits, drawn from border villages, and deployed them in border areas to combat terrorism and prevent infiltration into J&K. Of these recruits, 560 have been deployed in the border areas of the Jammu region, with the remainder in border areas of the Valley.
Following a spike in terror attacks, the government has stationed an additional 4,000 security personnel, including 500 elite para commandos, in the forest areas of the Jammu region.