Jammu, Nov. 29 -- Security forces on Friday launched a cordon and search operation after getting information about suspicious movement in the higher reaches of Udhampur district, officials said.

The searches are underway in the Chigla-Balotha area of the Basantgarh belt of the district, they said. The Army, the Jammu and Kashmir police, and the CRPF are conducting the joint operation, they added.

Basantgarh is located along a traditional infiltration route often used by Pakistani terrorists who cross the International Border in Kathua and move through the higher reaches toward Doda and Kishtwar districts in the Jammu region before heading further into the Kashmir Valley.

The area has witnessed multiple encounters and terror-related inc...