JAMMU: A joint team of security forces launched an intensive cordon-and-search operation in Latti area of J&K’s Udhampur district Thursday after locals reported that a group of terror suspects had entered a house in Kirchi village, threatened its residents and fled after allegedly snatching cash.Personnel from the Army, J&K Police, and other security agencies were involved in the operation, officials said, adding that forces were on high alert. Authorities urged people to flag any suspicious movement in their respective areas.“Terrorists have been active for the past several months in Dudu-Basantgarh area — a forested, mountainous region straddling Udhampur, Doda, and Kathua districts of Jammu Division — which provides ample hideouts due to dense vegetation,” an official said.Basantgarh lies on a traditional infiltration route used by Pakistani terrorists who cross over the Indo-Pak international border in Kathua and move via the higher reaches to Doda and Kishtwar districts, further into Kashmir Valley. The region has witnessed several encounters and terror strikes in the past.On Oct 8, security forces conducted a massive combing operation in Dharni Top area of Basantgarh, Udhampur, after locals reported sighting three terror suspects the previous day.J&K Police’s SOG had carried out a similar operation on October 7, based on intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the dense forests of Dhar Sakri area, Rajouri. Security agencies believed these were the same ultras who had fled after opening fire at a search party earlier that day.On Sept 20, a soldier was killed in a fierce gun battle with terrorists during an encounter in Basantgarh.