Jammu, 16 July

Four army personnel, including a captain, died after being injured in a gunfight with heavily armed terrorists in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Tuesday while reinforcements were rushed in to track and neutralize the militants. Those killed in the encounter have been identified as Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D Rajesh, Sepoy Bijendra and Sepoy Ajay, they said. This was the third major encounter between security forces and terrorists in the forests of Doda district in the past three weeks.

The latest incident comes a week after a terrorist ambush on an Army patrol in the remote Machedi forest belt in Kathua district claimed the lives of five soldiers and injured as many.

Troops of the Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir Police launched a joint cordon and search operation at Dhari Gote Urarbagi in the Desa forest belt, some 55 km from Doda town, late on Monday evening when the encounter took place, the officials said.

After a brief exchange of fire, the terrorists tried to escape but were chased by the troops led by the captain despite the challenging terrain and thick foliage, they said, adding this led to another firefight around 9 pm on Monday. Five soldiers were critically injured in the encounter. Four of them, including the captain, later succumbed to injuries, the officials said.

Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi and all ranks of the Army paid tributes to the bravehearts who laid down their lives while undertaking the counter-terror operation. "Indian Army stands firm with the bereaved families in this hour of grief," Additional Directorate General of Public Information of the Indian Army posted on ‘X’.

The Army's 16 Corps, also known as White Knight Corps, in a post on 'X' late on Monday night, said, "Based on specific intelligence inputs, a joint operation by Indian Army and JKP was in progress in the general area North of Doda. Contact with terrorists was established tonight at about 2100 hrs in which heavy firefight ensued." "Initial reports suggest injuries to our bravehearts. Additional troops have been moved into the area. Operations are continuing," it said.

The officials said the Army and police mobilized reinforcements on Monday night itself and launched a fresh search of the area with more troops on Tuesday morning. The Army's elite para-commandos were deployed while drones and helicopters were also pressed into service for surveillance, they said.

According to the officials, there was no fresh contact with the terrorists on Tuesday who are believed to have infiltrated from across the border and been hiding in the forest area for the past couple of months.

On 9 July, terrorists managed to escape after an encounter with security forces in the nearby Ghadi Bhagwah forest bordering Kishtwar district. Three foreign terrorists were killed in a day-long operation in the Gandoh area of the district on 26 June. The anti-terror operations in Doda were intensified after a fierce exchange of fire in Chattargalla pass left five army personnel and a special police officer injured on 12 June. A policeman was injured in another encounter in Gandoh the next day.

The Jammu region, which remained relatively peaceful between 2005 and 2021 after security forces wiped out decades-long terrorism, witnessed a spike in terror attacks over the past month. It included an attack on a pilgrim bus that left nine persons dead and 40 injured.

Terror activities resurfaced in October 2021 from the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. Some of the deadly attacks that spread to Reasi, Kathua and Doda were attributed by the security establishment as an attempt by Pakistani handlers to revive terrorism in the Jammu region.

Over 70 people, including 52 security personnel -- mostly from the Army -- have been killed in terror-related incidents in the Jammu region since 2021. Most of the casualties were from Rajouri and Poonch districts where 54 terrorists were also eliminated, the officials said. Three terrorists were also killed in Reasi district and two others in Kathua district, they added.