Srinagar:

Army vehicles were attacked by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, which borders Punjab’s Pathankot, on Monday afternoon. Two soldiers have been injured and have been shifted to hospital for treatment. The initial attack has been fought off and an encounter is underway.

Reinforcements have been rushed in and a search op has been launched to track down the terrorists.

This is the second attack on the Indian Army in the Jammu region in the past 48 hours.

On Sunday an Army camp in Rajouri district was attacked. One soldier was injured.

Today’s attack comes 24 hours after six terrorists were killed across two separate encounters in J&K’s Kulgam district. The encounters, which began on Saturday, also claimed the lives of two soldiers, including a para-trooper, while another soldier sustained injuries, police told NDTV.

The first encounter took place in Modergam village when security forces, comprising the CRPF or Central Reserve Police Force, the Army, and local police, launched a search op based on intelligence about terrorist presence. In the initial exchange of gunfire, a para-trooper was fatally wounded.

READ | After Twin Encounters, Reports Of Firing Near Rajouri Army Camp

The operation escalated into a full-scale assault on a target house where terrorists took shelter. By late Saturday night, security forces destroyed the house and recovered the body of two terrorists.

Simultaneously, another fierce gun battle unfolded in Kulgam’s Frisal area. Drone footage revealed the bodies of four terrorists after a long firefight. One soldier was killed and another injured in this fight.

VIDEO | 4 Terrorists Killed Hid In ‘Bunker’, Entry From Fake Cupboard

The four shot dead in Frisal were identified as Yawar Bashir Dar, Zahid Ahmad Dar, Tawheed Ahmad Rather and Shakeel ah Wani. The two in Madergam were identified as Faisal and Adil.

Para Commando and Lance Naik Pradeep Nain was killed in action in Modergam, while Havaldar Raj Kumar of 1 Rashtriya Rifles was killed in action in the Frisal area.

In a separate incident in the Rajouri district, there were reports of firing near an army camp. One soldier was injured, and although initial reports suggested an attempted overnight terror attack on the Manjakote army camp, the army has yet to confirm these details.

On Sunday, security agency sources said a Pakistan-based operative of the Resistance Front, a unit of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, was behind this spike in terror activities in J&K.

READ | Lashkar’s Most-Wanted Terrorist Behind J&K Attacks

Idenitifed as Saifullah Sajid Jatt, from Shangamanga village in Kasur district of Pakistan’s Punjab, the NIA has said he is a “hardcore terrorist” and placed a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

J&K has witnessed a string of terror attacks over the past couple of months.

Last month, terrorists opened fire at a bus in which pilgrims were travelling. The bus fell into a gorge in Reasi district and nine people were killed. Days later, two armed terrorists entered a village and opened fire. Security forces arrived and, in the gunfight that followed, a CRPF personnel was killed.

The terrorists were shot dead.

Last month three terrorists were killed after a fierce gunfight broke out between terrorists and security forces in the Gandoh area of Doda district in J&K, the police said. These terrorists were believed to have been involved in recent attacks on the Army and the police in the Kashmir Valley.

READ | 3 Terrorists Shot Dead In Gunfight With Security Forces In J&K’s Doda

A huge cache of arms and ammunition, including US-made M4 carbines, were recovered.

“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.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

Jammu:

Several people were detained on Sunday as security forces launched a massive search operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on two IAF vehicles that left one personnel dead.

Corporal Vikky Pahade of the Air Force was killed and four other air warriors were injured in the terrorist attack in the Bakrabal (Sanai) area of Surankote tehsil of Poonch. Intelligence agencies believe the attack was carried out by a group of terrorists led by Abu Hamza, a foreign terrorist of LeT.

Officials said that in addition to AK assault rifles, the terrorists also used a US-made M4 carbine and steel bullets to cause maximum casualties.

The four injured air warriors were airlifted to the Northern Command Hospital in Udhampur. One was said to be in critical condition, while the other three were stable, according to doctors.

In the wake of the attack, security forces, including the local police, army, and paramilitary forces, started a massive search operation Sunday morning in many areas of Poonch to trace the terrorists. The Army also conducted aerial surveillance using a helicopter, and Para Commandos were also pressed into service in the search operation.

ADGP, Jammu, Anand Jain, and senior officers of the army and intelligence agencies visited the ambush spot in the Surankote area.

Saturday’s attack was the first in Poonch since December 21, 2023, when four army soldiers were killed in a terrorist ambush in the Dera Ki Gali area of Bafliaz in the district.

According to police, Abu Hamza is also responsible for the killing of government employee, Mohammad Razaq, 40, on April 22 in the Kunda Top village of the Thanamandi area of Rajouri district.

Razaq worked in the Social Welfare Department while his brother, Mohammad Tahir Choudhary is serving in the Territorial Army. The terrorists had come to kill the soldier, but when he slipped out of their clutches, they killed his brother instead, police said.

Police have announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh to anyone whose information leads to the tracing of this foreign terrorist believed to be operating in the densely forested area of Poonch and Rajouri districts.

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