New Delhi:

Four Indian Army soldiers, including an officer, have been killed in action during an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district on Monday.

According to officials, a joint operation by the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police was launched based on specific information about the presence of terrorists.

“Contact with terrorists was established at about 9 pm in which heavy firefight ensued. Initial reports suggest injuries to our bravehearts,” the Army had posted on X on Monday night.

Op KOTHI – 2

Based on specific intelligence inputs, a joint operation by #IndianArmy and JKP was in progress in General area North of #Doda.

Contact with terrorists was established tonight at about 2100h in which heavy firefight ensued. Initial reports suggest injuries to our…

— White Knight Corps (@Whiteknight_IA) July 15, 2024

At least five soldiers were critically injured in the encounter, officials had said.

Second Major Attack In Jammu Region In One Week

This was the second major encounter in the Jammu region after five soldiers were killed in action in Kathua last week.

The attack, in which five soldiers were also injured, was a coordinated strike on two trucks carrying at least 12 troops.

The terrorists targeted the trucks, which were around 500 metres apart, with grenades and, in worrying signs, used armor-piercing bullets (those tipped with hardened steel) and an M4 assault rifle.

Terrorist attacks, which started in Poonch and Rajouri districts, have now spread across Jammu, the region that was free from terrorism till a few years ago.

Over the last 32 months, 48 soldiers have been killed in action in the Jammu region. 

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.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked the Army to deploy the full spectrum of its anti-terrorist capabilities to eliminate terrorism in the Jammu region.

New Delhi:

In a significant breakthrough, one of the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) most wanted terrorists and LeT commander was killed during an encounter with security forces on Wednesday night in Kashmir’s Kulgam district.

Three terrorists have been killed in the gunfight which broke out in the Redwani Payeen area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam after security forces launched a search operation late on Monday night.

Basit Ahmed Dar, a resident of Redwani Payeen, was also the commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) offshoot group, The Resistant Front (TRF) and was involved in the killings of civilians and security personnel. Apart from Dar, two LeT terrorists identified as Momin Gulzar and Fahim Ahmed Baba were also killed in the operation.

“It’s a big achievement for us as they were involved in 18 killings. These killings include those of security personnel, civilians and minorities,” Inspector General of Police Kashmir V K Birdi told NDTV.

The security forces have intensified search operations in the Union territory days after an Indian Air Force officer was killed and four others injured when their convoy was targetted in Poonch district on May 4. 

CCTV footage photographs of three terrorists believed to be involved in the attack were released on Wednesday.

The three have been identified as Illiyas, a former Pakistan Army commando, a Pakistani terrorist called Hadoon (or Hadun), and Abu Hamza, the code-name of commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba.
 

New Delhi:

Security forces have now reached close to the hideout of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag where they had targetted their bombs and shells to drive them out, sources said. An operation against terrorists is going on since late Tuesday night deep inside the dense forests of Gadol area of Kokernag in Anantnag. 

The encounter has entered its sixth day, with thousands of troops including para commandos locked in an endless gunfight with terrorists.

Three officers, including two from the Army and a policeman, have been killed in action in an attempt to neutralise the terrorists.

Profile of terrorists

The heavily armed terrorists, believed to be two-three in number, are hiding in a tactically favourable location in the dense and steep forest. 

They are believed to be affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba as one of them is one of them is Uzair Khan, who joined Lashkar last year and is well aware of the area.

Cautious approach

It has been raining intermittently at the encounter site since Saturday, which is causing a lot of difficulty in the operation. Especially on these hills of Pir Panjal, there are dense forests, caves, and ditches, due to which the visibility reduces considerably and makes the operation riskier. 

Army sources said that there is no firing from terrorists, but until that area is completely sanitised, army personnel cannot go there. It’s possible that the terrorist may be alive and hiding to fire secretly. They may even have planted an improvised explosive device (IED) in the hideout and set it to explode when the soldiers reach there. This is why the army is moving very slowly, sources said.

Army dogs and equipment to detect explosives are also being used to clear the area. 

Security forces suspect that the hide out may have dead bodies of the terrorists. Even if they aren’t dead, it would be very difficult to escape as the army has cordoned off the entire area. 

Action so far

The troops have fired hundreds of mortar shells and rockets, targeted suspected terrorist hideouts with hi-tech equipment, and dropped explosives using advanced drones.

The Army has even released a picture of the drone being used in the operation.

OP GAROL#LtGenUpendraDwivedi#ArmyCdr, Northern Command reviewed the operational situation on the ongoing operations at #Kokernag forest area in #Anantnag. He was briefed by the ground commanders on the High Intensity Operations in which Hi-tech Equipment is being used for… pic.twitter.com/MggzlYb2Lh

— NORTHERN COMMAND – INDIAN ARMY (@NorthernComd_IA) September 16, 2023

The joint operation by Army and police began Tuesday night based on intelligence input, followed by an attempt to approach the terrorist hideout next day. The terrorists who appear to have anticipated the action opened fire on the forces, caught between the dense forests and hill on one side and a deep ditch on the other.

Leading from the front, two Army officers – Colonel Manpreet Singh and Major Ashish Dhonchak, and Deputy Superintendent of Police Himayun Bhat – were killed in action. Two more soldiers were injured while another is believed to be missing.

Srinagar:

An encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists near the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

“#Encounter has started between #terrorists and Army & Baramulla Police in forward area of #Uri, Hathlanga in #Baramulla district,” the Kashmir Zone Police said in a post on X.

Further details shall follow, police said.

This comes at a time when an operation is underway in Anantnag district to neutralise terrorists who have taken positions in the forest area in hilly terrain. The gunfight entered its third day on Friday. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)