Overview

• Inspector General of Police Bhim Sen Tuti confirmed an exchange of fire with suspected militants in Rajouri’s Beeranthub area of Kandi, after which joint Army, police and CRPF teams sealed the forests.
• No casualties have been reported from the Rajouri encounter, and security officials say the suspects likely moved deeper into rugged forest terrain following the brief gunfire.
• Security forces are conducting a separate cordon-and-search in Udhampur’s Dharni Top in Basantgarh after residents reported sightings of three armed men moving through dense woods.
• In South Kashmir’s Kokernag–Gadool forests, two para commandos have been out of contact since the Oct 6–7 snowstorm, with helicopters, drones and dog squads supporting ground teams in a weather-hit search-and-rescue effort.
• Authorities have not confirmed militant casualties or precise group sizes, with most reporting focused on small cells in active areas and one uncorroborated claim pointing to a larger presence across the Chenab Valley.