JAMMU: A Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) commander was among three terrorists killed in separate gunfights with security forces in snow-covered forests of Udhampur and Kishtwar districts in J&K’s Jammu division Wednesday, officials said.Sources identified the slain JeM man as Rubani, alias Abu Mavia, though there was no official confirmation of his identity by authorities. Security forces launched a seek-and-shoot operation Tuesday in Jopher forest near Basantgarh — a mountainous area of Udhampur district about 65km northeast of Jammu city — acting on specific intelligence inputs.“Heavy exchange of fire rocked the forest around 4pm Tuesday when the terrorists attempted to break out of the cordon,” an official said. Reinforcements, including paratroopers and dog squads, were rushed in to seal escape routes across the rugged terrain.For several hours overnight, troops maintained a tight vigil using drones and ground surveillance before launching a final assault at daybreak. Both terrorists were killed in the morning operation, officials said.In Dichhar area of Kishtwar district, a suspected Pakistani terrorist was killed Wednesday evening in a running hunt across snowbound mountains.The Army’s White Knight Corps said on Forces have pursued the group since Jan 18, when a clash broke out at Sonnar village near Mandral–Singhpora — hill hamlets south of Kishtwar town — killing a paratrooper and wounding seven soldiers. Terrorists slipped away through dense vegetation and broken ridgelines.Search teams had been combing Sanjinala–Dichhar axis inside Chingam forest, part of the Chatroo belt — a rugged stretch of terrain roughly 190km northeast of Jammu. The area has remained under deep snow for weeks.They were intercepted again several km away on Jan 22. Contact broke. Two more gunfights followed on Jan 26 and Jan 31 as snowfall crossed two feet across upper reaches, slowing movement but not search grids.
