A massive cordon-and-search operation is underway to recover the bodies of two village defence guards and track down the terrorists responsible for their killings in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district.

The village defence guards (VDG) were executed by terrorists on Thursday after being abducted in the higher reaches of Kishtwar district, officials said.

A joint search operation involving the police, Army, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been launched in a dense forest area following the gruesome killings, which have been condemned by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and leaders from the People's Democratic Party, Congress, and the BJP.

The operation is concentrated in the Kuntwara, Ohli, and Munzla Dhar hilly areas, with reinforcements dispatched early this morning, officials said.

Security forces have intensified efforts, deploying drones and sniffer dogs, with a helicopter seen hovering over the forested area this morning, they added.

"Two VDG members, Nazir Ahmed and Kuldeep Kumar from Ohli-Kuntwara, went missing in the upper reaches while grazing livestock," a police spokesperson said.

Photographs of the bodies later circulated on social media, and their family members have confirmed their identities, the spokesperson added.

"In response, a joint search operation by the police and Army is underway. Updates to follow," she stated.

Officials reported that Ahmad and Kumar had gone to graze cattle in the Munzla Dhar forest in Adhwari but did not return. Police teams spread out to locate them amid reports of their abduction and subsequent killing by terrorists.

"My brother and Nazir were abducted and killed by terrorists. They were village defence guards and had gone to graze cattle as usual," Kumar's brother Prithvi, told PTI.

He added that the family is in deep shock as Kumar's killing follows their father Amar Chand's death only a week ago.

The village learned of the killings when terrorists used the victims' phones to share pictures of their execution, according to a local source who did not wished to be named.

Kashmir Tigers, an offshoot of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, claimed responsibility for the killings, sharing images of the victims with blindfolded eyes.

Kishtwar, along with other districts in the Jammu region such as Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, Udhampur, Doda, and Kathua, has seen a rise in terror attacks this year, attributed by security agencies to attempts by cross-border handlers to revive militancy in the otherwise peaceful region.

Lieutenant Governor Sinha strongly condemned the heinous terrorist attack on VDG members and reiterated the government's resolve to destroy all terror outfits and avenge the barbaric act. In a post on X, the ruling National Conference said party president Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Abdullah had condemned the gruesome killings and asserted that "such acts of barbaric violence remain a significant impediment in achieving long lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir".

Meanwhile, people in various areas of Kishtwar took to the streets to protest against the killings.

The protesters demanded "immediate elimination" of the terrorists involved in the killings to restore confidence among the local population. Hundreds gathered in the Drabshalla area of the district, burning tyres and blocking roads.

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