An Army soldier was killed on Saturday during a fierce gunfight with terrorists in the Udhampur district of the Jammu division. The soldier was earlier injured in the exchange of fire and later succumbed in the hospital where he was evacuated for treatment, officials said.
The encounter broke out last evening in the Basantgarh area of Udhampur – a mountainous tri-junction connecting Udhampur, Doda, and Kathua districts.
The White Knight Corps of the Indian Army said that, “In an intelligence-based operation in the general area of Kishtwar, alert troops of White Knight Corps established contact with terrorists at around 8 pm on 19 September. Exchange of fire took place”.
A joint search team of the Army, CRPF and Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police came under heavy fire from the 3 to 4 hiding terrorists in the Seoj Dhar forest border in the Dudu-Basantgarh area of Udhampur and Bhaderwah in Doda, the officials said.
This area has witnessed frequent face-offs between terrorists and security forces.
Reinforcements equipped with drones and sniffer dogs were rushed from both Udhampur and Doda and a massive search operation was underway when last reports were received, officials said.
This is the second major encounter in Jammu and Kashmir in the last two weeks. Earlier, two soldiers, including a junior commissioned officer of the Army, were killed during a gun battle in the Kulgam district of Kashmir. Two terrorists, including a Pakistani, were killed in the encounter.
Jammu region, which was free from terrorism, has become a major security challenge over the last four years. With increased activities of battle-hardened terrorists in Jammu, the government has reinforced the counter-terrorism grid by deploying additional troops and paramilitary personnel in the region.
Meanwhile, alert White Knight Corps troops while carrying out an intelligence based joint search operation with J&K Police, recovered an AK Series assault rifle, four AK magazines, 20 Hand Grenades and other war-like stores in the Poonch Sector. Further searches were continuing in the area.
Lt. General Pratik Sharma, Northern Army Commander, reviewed the security situation and counter-infiltration grid in North Kashmir.
He witnessed a Battle Enabler display and lauded all ranks for their innovation and adoption of niche technologies to counter contemporary threats.