New Delhi:

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has paid tribute to the four soldiers killed on Monday in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda. “Today, our soldiers were martyred in another terrorist encounter in Jammu and Kashmir. I pay my humble tribute to the martyrs and express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families,” he posted in Hindi on X Tuesday morning.

Mr Gandhi, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the number of such attacks on Indian soldiers in J&K in the past few months is “extremely sad and worrying”.

He also hit out at the government for the “poor condition of Jammu and Kashmir” and said the soldiers there are “bearing the brunt of the BJP’s wrong policies”. The “wrong policies” reference has been seen as an attack on the Modi government over the scrapping of Article 370 in J&K.

“It is the demand of every patriotic Indian that the government should take full responsibility for repeated security lapses,” Mr Gandhi said and called for “strict action” against the terrorists.

आज जम्मू कश्मीर में फिर से एक आतंकी मुठभेड़ में हमारे जवान शहीद हो गए। शहीदों को विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करते हुए शोक संतप्त परिजनों को गहरी संवेदनाएं व्यक्त करता हूं।

एक के बाद एक ऐसी भयानक घटनाएं बेहद दुखद और चिंताजनक है।

लगातार हो रहे ये आतंकी हमले जम्मू कश्मीर की जर्जर…

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 16, 2024

However, Mr Gandhi also underlined the need for political unity at this time, and the importance of the opposition supporting the government as it responds to the increased terror threat.

“In this hour of grief, the entire country stands united against terrorism,” he said.

Four soldiers, including an officer, were killed in action in Doda district. The terrorists had attacked a joint operation – of the Army and J&K Police – formed to track them down.

READ | 4 Soldiers Killed In Action In Encounter With Terrorists In J&K’s Doda

Contact was made late Monday night, the Army had said.

The operation is ongoing, NDTV has been told.

Sources told NDTV Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi and took stock of the ground situation and ongoing operation in Doda.

This was the second major encounter in the Jammu region after five soldiers were killed in action in Kathua last week. That attack, in which five were also injured, was a coordinated strike on two trucks – with grenades and armour-piercing bullets, and an American-made assault rifle.

READ | Kathua Terror Attack On 2 Trucks, Armour-Piercing Bullets Used

The attacks, which began in Poonch and Rajouri, have now spread across Jammu, a region that was free from terrorism till a few years ago. In the last 32 months, 48 soldiers have been killed.

Earlier this month Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Parliament the fight against terrorism in J&K is in its last stage, and that a multi-pronged strategy had been adopted to destroy the remaining network. “Our fight against terrorism in J&K, in a way, is in last stage, last leg. We are moving with a multi-pronged strategy to eliminate the remaining terror network there,” he said.

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Srinagar:

Security forces have engaged terrorists in a forested area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district.

Officials said the encounter broke after intelligence about the presence of two-three terrorists in the upper reaches of the district’s Goli-Gadi forest. The terrorists have been pinned down.

This comes a day after five soldiers were killed, and five others injured, in Kathua district, about 200 km away, after a coordinated terror strike on two military trucks carrying at least a dozen troops.

It is unlikely, sources said, the terrorists trapped in Doda were involved in Monday’s attack.

The Kathua attack was the second on the Army in the preceding 48 hours; on Sunday terrorists attacked a military camp in Rajouri. One soldier was injured but the attack was repulsed.

READ | Kathua Attack Saw Strike On 2 Trucks, Armour-Piercing Bullets

There are reports over 60 foreign terrorists – trained in jungle warfare – may be operating in the Jammu region alone, even as the shadow of fear has spread across all 10 districts of the province.

Over the last 32 months 44 soldiers have been killed in the Jammu region, which was believed to be free from terrorism. However, in most case the terrorists escape without suffering casualties.

India has vowed to avenge the Kathua attack.

READ | “Won’t Go Unavenged”: India’s Message On Kathua Ambush

Without naming Pakistan, the Defence Ministry said ‘evil forces’ will be defeated.

“Fight Against Terror In Last Stage”

Last week Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Parliament the fight against terrorism in J&K is in its last stage, and that a multi-pronged strategy had been adopted to destroy the remaining network.

READ | Fight Against Terrorism In J&K In Last Stage: PM Modi

“Our fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, in a way, is in last stage, last leg. We are moving with a multi-pronged strategy to eliminate the remaining terror network there,” PM Modi had said.

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