Kathua attack: Searches intensify as DGP Swain reviews ongoing operation

A massive search operation was underway on Tuesday to track down the terrorists behind the deadly attack on an Army patrol party in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, as Director General of Police R R Swain flew to the area to oversee the operation on the ground.

The bodies of the five soldiers killed in the attack have been handed over to the Army after postmortem and were airlifted to their homes for last rites, officials said.

Accompanied by ADGP Anand Jain, DGP Swain conducted an aerial survey of the area and reviewed the ongoing operations, they said.

The scope of the search operation has been expanded to encompass large areas in the adjoining districts of Udhampur and Kathua, including Basantgarh, Seoj (a high-altitude area in Udhampur), and the upper reaches of Bani, Daggar, and Kindli in Kathua district.

Special forces of the Indian Army's 'Para' unit have been deployed to conduct surgical operations against the terrorists in specific areas, the officials said.

Ground se