Srinagar: A foreign militant of the proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit was gunned down in a brief encounter in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday (January 23), officials said.A defence spokesperson said that a joint operation was launched by J&K police and the army, on Friday, following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in Parhetar area of Kathua.“Area was cordoned and contact established. In a precise strike by the joint forces, 1 Foreign Terrorist has been eliminated. Search operations are continuing,” the army’s Rising Star Corps said in a post on X.Inspector general of J&K police (Jammu) Bhim Sen Tuti also posted on X: “A Pakistani Jaish terrorist has been neutralised by a small JKP team in a joint operation with the Army and CRPF in the general area of Billawar, Kathua district.”Officials didn’t give out further details about the identity of the deceased, whether his body was recovered or any recovery made from the encounter site. This story would be updated if more details become available.The slain militant has reportedly been identified as Usman, a Pakistani resident. An American-made M4 carbine rifle has also been recovered from his possession.The brief encounter broke out at a time when security forces are in the midst of massive search operations in the higher reaches of Jammu division where several groups of militants, including foreigners, are believed to have taken refuge.At least 35 militants, divided into groups, mostly led by Pakistani nationals, are believed to be hiding in Kishtwar and Doda districts of Chenab valley where militancy has staged a comeback in recent years.Eight army soldiers were injured, some of them critically, in one such operation in the hilly Kishtwar district on January 19 when they were reportedly ambushed by a group of heavily-armed militants in a densely forested area.A day later, Havildar Gajendra Singh, one of the injured soldiers who was part of the army’s elite special forces, succumbed to injuries.Security forces later busted a hideout of the group of militants who were involved in the Kishtwar encounter.An unofficial video released to the media showed that the hideout was made of mud and stones, with a thatched roof made of pine branches that blended the structure into the natural surroundings.Inside the hideout, elaborate arrangements had been made for cooking and sleeping, suggesting that militants may have be preparing for a long haul.Insurgency has registered an uptick in recent months in Jammu division which has emerged as the new battleground in the union territory ever since Article 370 was read down by the Bharatiya Janta Party-led Union government in 2019.While the security situation has registered a significant improvement in Kashmir valley post 2019, a spate of attacks on civilians and security forces has created a sense of dread in parts of Jammu, a BJP stronghold, forcing the Union government to revive the controversial civilian militias in the violence-affected areas.