Elderly man taken hostage by terrorists in J&K`s Batote, firing underway

New Delhi: Terrorists, believed to be two to three in number, barged into a cable operator's house in Batote area of Ramban district in Jammu and Kashmir and took his elderly father hostage during an encounter with security forces on Saturday. Heaving firing is underway between the two sides. 

The incident took place after the terrorists attacked an Army patrolling party in the area and hurled grenades. After which, security forces carried out search operations and cornered terrorists in Main Market.

At around 7:30 am, the terrorists tried to stop the civil vehicle at Batote on National Highway (NH) 244. 

Two grenade attacks and one encounter have been reported from across the state on Saturday.

The first grenade attack happened in Batote. The second was reported from Srinagar where terrorists attacked a CRPF convoy. 

In another incident, an encounter broke out in Naranag village of Ganderbal district, in which three terrorists were killed. The initial investigation revealed that the three terrorists belonged to a foreign land. Huge cache of arms and ammunition were also seized by the forces from the spot. 

The whole area had been cordoned off and a massive search operation was launched. The traffic movement was also stopped in the area as a precautionary measure following the incident.