A junior commissioned officer was killed during an encounter with armed terrorists in Thanamandi area of Rajouri district on Thursday.
“Today [Thursday], during an encounter with terrorists in Thanamandi area of Rajouri, one JCO of Rashtriya Rifles suffered bullet injuries and one terrorist died. The JCO was immediately evacuated to the nearest medical facility but later succumbed to his injuries. A search operation is going on,” the defence spokesperson said.
The operation at Thanamandi was launched by police, army and CRPF.
In the initial exchange of fire, two army personnel were injured, of whom the JCO succumbed to his injuries, authorities said.
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The encounter broke out in the Karyote Kalas area, where a cordon and search operation was launched on Wednesday following reports of suspicious movement.
“This morning, as the forces were zeroing in on the suspected hideout, terrorists fired upon the them,” they added.
The martyred JCO hailed from Pauri, Garhwal, in Uttarakhand.
On August 6, security forces killed two terrorists in Pangai area of Thanamandi and on August 10, Jammu and Kashmir Police identified one of the two slain terrorists as Ramees Ahmad Tantray of Ramnagri in Shopian district
In the past few weeks, several encounters have taken place in Rajouri sector — Daddal in Nowshera, Sunderbani and Pangai in Thanamandi followed by Thursday’s encounter at Karyote.
{{/usCountry}}In the past few weeks, several encounters have taken place in Rajouri sector — Daddal in Nowshera, Sunderbani and Pangai in Thanamandi followed by Thursday’s encounter at Karyote.
{{/usCountry}}“All these were fresh groups, which had infiltrated the area recently,” DGP Dilbag Singh said.
The DGP also said that infiltration of terrorists from launch pads across the border has resumed.