Two soldiers were killed and two others injured in an encounter in the Kishtwar district of Jammu, officials familiar with the matter said on Friday, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address a rally in the neighbouring Doda region ahead of the restive Union territory’s first assembly elections in a decade.
According to officials, a joint team of the 11 Rashtriya Rifles and J&K Police launched a search operation in Pingnar Dugadda forest area in Chatroo area after receiving information about the presence of terrorists.
“Based on the intelligence inputs, a joint operation with J&K Police was launched in area Chatroo at Kishtwar…In the ensuing firefight four army personnel have been injured. The operation is in progress,” the Nagrota-based White Knight Corps said in a post on X.
It later said that of two of the injured soldiers— Naib Subedar Vipin Kumar and Sepoy Arvind Singh— succumbed to injuries.
“GOC White Knight Corps and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of the Bravehearts; offer deepest condolences to the families,” it said in the post. Officials identified the two other injured soldiers as Musadiq Shafiq Wani and Sahil Thakur.
Defence personnel have increased vigil in the UT ahead of the assembly elections, scheduled in three phases on September 18 and 25, and October 1. In the run-up to the electoral exercise, a bevy of political leaders have held rallies across the UT and more are slated to do so in the coming days. Modi is scheduled to address his first rally in the J&K election campaign, roughly 110 km away from the site of Friday’s encounter.
{{/usCountry}}Defence personnel have increased vigil in the UT ahead of the assembly elections, scheduled in three phases on September 18 and 25, and October 1. In the run-up to the electoral exercise, a bevy of political leaders have held rallies across the UT and more are slated to do so in the coming days. Modi is scheduled to address his first rally in the J&K election campaign, roughly 110 km away from the site of Friday’s encounter.
{{/usCountry}}Officials aware of the matter said that a group of three terrorists likely attacked the joint team in Kishtwar.
“The terrorists were hiding in a dhok [a mud hut made by nomads for temporary stay]. The troops were approaching the area when they were fired upon indiscriminately by the armed terrorists with automatic weapons. Four soldiers were wounded in the firing,” one of the officials said on condition of anonymity. He added that the injured soldiers were first rushed to Kishtwar District Hospital and then moved to the Command Hospital in Udhampur.
The official added that the group of terrorists was likely affiliated with the Jaish-e-Mohammed and was also behind the July 16 Doda attack.
“These terrorists appear to be of JeM, and we suspect that it is the same group that was responsible for the Dessa forest attack that left an army captain and three soldiers dead,” said the official.
Two months ago, Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D Rajesh, Sepoy Bijendra and Sepoy Ajay, all from the counter-insurgency unit of 10 Rashtriya Rifles, were killed in a gun battle with the terrorists. The extremists ambushed a search party — comprising the captain and seven soldiers—on a hilltop. The security forces chased them into the treacherous terrain and thick foliage, leading to another firefight in the woods. The terrorists had managed to escape after wounding the personnel.
Kashmir Tigers, a proxy outfit of JeM, claimed responsibility for the attack.
A surge in terror strikes in Jammu has raised concerns that the erstwhile peaceful region was emerging as the new epicenter of violence in the Union territory. This year, 14 security personnel and 11 civilians have died in separate extremist attacks in Jammu. Security forces have gunned down 10 terrorists in the region.
On Wednesday, security forces gunned down two terrorists in the Kathua district of J&K and recovered a huge cache of arms.