At least 24 people have been detained for questioning as the hunt for the terrorists behind the ambush in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, in which five army personnel were killed, entered its third day on Wednesday, officials said.
The search operation by the army and police is underway amid intermittent heavy rain in dense forests across four districts, besides Kathua. It was launched from three different areas -- Kathua, Udhampur and Bhaderwah, official said.
Security forces have detained 24 people for questioning in connection with the ambush, they said, as efforts continued to track down and neutralise the terrorists who are believed to be hiding in a forest.
The officials said another search operation is underway in the higher reaches of Doda district where a gunfight took place between terrorists and security forces on Tuesday evening, a day after the ambush in Kathua.
On the search operation linked to the Kathua ambush, the officials said army and police personnel are also deployed in dense forests in different parts of Udhampur, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch districts.
Fresh searches were also launched in the Lala Chack area of Samba, Manjakote area of Rajouri and Surankote of Poonch on Wednesday morning, they said.
On Monday, terrorists ambushed a patrol party on the Machedi-Kindli-Malhar mountainous road near Badnota village in Lohai Malhar, around 150 km from the Kathua district headquarters, killing the five army personnel and injuring as many.
From the Bhaderwah side, security personnel are moving cautiously because of the area's challenging topography, thick foliage and natural caves, the officials said.
Personnel of the army's special forces "Para" unit have also been deployed to conduct surgical operations in specific areas, they said.
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