Four Army personnel were injured on Sunday in a gunfight with terrorists holed up in a remote forest area in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, officials said, amid an intensified hunt following the recent killing of two Village Defence Guards (VDGs).

The encounter broke out around 11 am when joint search parties of the Army and police intercepted the terrorists in the Keshwan forest, a few kilometres from the spot where the bullet-riddled bodies of VDGs Nazir Ahmad and Kuldeep Kumar were found.

A massive search operation was launched in the forests of Kuntwara and Keshwan on Thursday evening after the terrorists abducted and killed the VDGs.

The Army's Jammu-based White Knight Corps said in a post on X, "Based on specific intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists, a joint operation was launched by security forces in general area Bhart Ridge, Kishtwar. This is the same group which had abducted and killed 02 (two) innocent villagers (village defence guards). Contact was established and firefight ensued." The officials said four Army personnel were injured in the initial gunfight and evacuated to a hospital, where the condition of three of them was stated to be "critical".

Earlier, a police spokesperson also confirmed that an encounter was underway with the terrorists responsible for the killing of the two VDGs.

Three or four terrorists are believed to be trapped in the area, the official said.

The officials said intermittent exchange of fire was going on till the last reports were received.

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