A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of Army was killed while foiling an infiltration bid of terrorists along the Line of Control (LoC) in Akhnoor sector of Jammu while three terrorists, believed to be Pakistanis, were killed in the Kishtwar encounter.
An army official said army men thwarted an attempt of terrorists to infiltrate into this side of LoC from across the border.
He said troops picked up the movement of a group of heavily armed terrorists near a stream in a forward forest setting in the Keri Bhattal area late Friday night, and challenged them, leading to a fierce gunfight which continued for quite some time.
Subedar Kuldeep Chand of 9 Punjab was injured in the encounter and later succumbed to injuries in the hospital.
The whole area was cordoned off with deployment of reinforcements, and a search operation was launched to ensure that no terrorist had sneaked in.
“The terrorists are believed to have sneaked back into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the intense gunfight in the Keri Bhattal area, the officials said.
In the same area on February 11, two Army personnel, including a captain, were martyred and another was injured when terrorists set off an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
The latest incident comes two days after India and Pakistan held a brigade commander-level flag meeting in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district to discuss issues related to border management.
This was the second such meeting since February in an effort to de-escalate tension after nearly a dozen incidents of cross-border firing, and an IED attack.
Ceasefire violations along the LoC have become rare since India and Pakistan renewed their ceasefire agreement on February 25, 2021.
On April 5, Border Security Force (BSF) personnel shot dead a Pakistani intruder along the International Border in the R S Pura sector here and later held a flag meeting with Rangers over the incident.
Meanwhile, Brigadier J V S Rathi, Commander 5 Sector Assam Rifles and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban (DKR) Range, Shridhar Patil in a joint press briefing in Kishtwar said three terrorists have been killed in the gunfight in dense forest area of Kishtwar.
While giving details of the operation, Brigadier Rathi said the operation in Chhatroo forest areas was launched on specific, credible intelligence inputs on April 9 by joint teams of Indian Army, the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the CRPF in the dense forests of Kishtwar to nab the group of terrorists.
“In the ensuing gun battle (fire-fight) three terrorists were neutralized despite the weather and night time challenges. The troops displayed great professionalism and acumen. The security of the civilians was of our topmost priority and the same was maintained in the execution of this operation,” he said.
Brigadier Rathi said that the operation also brought to the fore the seamless coordination between the Indian Army and the JKP, especially the SOG.
“Rapid reinforcements were deployed in terms of the special forces with the help of the Indian Air Force. To carry out real time surveillance of the area, the UAVs, drones, and other equipment were deployed basically to ensure that the terrorists did not escape from the area. This operation reaffirms the commitment of the Indian Army to maintain peace and stability in south Jammu (region) especially in the Pir Panjal area,” he said.
“I would like to mention that certain security measures have been instituted in terms of the rapid force response capabilities, technological integration and inter-agency seamless coordination to maintain peace and stability in the region. I would like to thank the White Knight Corps and the GOC Delta Force for their guidance and support,” Brigadier said.
DIG Patil iidentity of the terrorists killed in the encounter is being ascertained.
“Once the identity is ascertained, it will be shared with the media. Right now, we are not at a stage where we can confirm the identification of anyone (out of slain terrorists),” he said.
Asked how many militants are operating in the area, he said, “The number does not matter whosoever comes with the aim of disturbing peace in the territory in the region will be neutralized”.
Brigadier Rathi said the operation will continue till all militants operating in the area are killed.
The DIG said one M4 rifle, one AK series rifle besides other arms and ammunition have been recovered from the encounter site.