NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL DEAR REDIFF THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
Striking for the first time in Katra area of Jammu and Kashmir where the famous Vaishno Devi shrine is located, terrorists on Thursday abducted two Hindus and a Muslim from a hamlet on Thursday.
A group of heavily armed terrorists struck the hamlets of Dhal-Jasarkote-Laduk area of Trikuta hills in Katra area of Udhampur district and abducted the three persons before making their way to the forests in the upper reaches of the mountain ranges, official sources said.
The terrorists and the hostages were in a thick forest behind the Katra hills, the sources said, adding two of those abducted were identified as Sanjiv Singh and Nizamuddin.
Members of Village Defence Committee launched a search operation and engaged the terrorists in a gun battle, they sources said.
Additional security personnel have been rushed to the site of the encounter.
Trikuta hills house the holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi, visited by millions of devotees every year.
Tell us what you think of this report
