India, July 4 -- A massive search operation to track down terrorists hiding in the forests of Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district entered its third day on Friday, with security forces deploying helicopters, drones, sniffer dogs and additional troops to strengthen the ongoing cordon, officials said.

The operation began after an encounter broke out on Wednesday evening between security personnel and terrorists in the dense Kanzal Mandu forest area of the Kuchal-Chatroo belt.

"The encounter began around 7:45 PM when police, assisted by the Army and CRPF, launched a cordon and search operation in Kuchal based on intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area," news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.

Security force...