Two Army captains, a havildar and a special forces jawan have lost their lives during the ongoing encounter in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Rajouri Encounter Update: Two Army captains and two soldiers were killed while two other personnel, including an Army Major sustained injuries in an ongoing gunfight between security forces and terrorists in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. The operation, which started in early hours of Wednesday morning, is still underway and two terrorists are believed to be holed up at the site, officials said.
According to officials, two captains, a havildar and a special forces jawan have lost their lives during the encounter even as the gunbattle rages on in the area with the induction of more troops to neutralise two terrorists trapped there.
A major and another jawan suffered injuries in the encounter, they said, adding the injured have been shifted to the Army’s Command Hospital in Udhampur.
The encounter broke out between terrorists and joint forces of the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police in the Bajimaal area of Dharmsal following a cordon-and-search operation, the police said.
In a social media post, the White Knight Corps of the Army said that based on specific intelligence, joint operations were launched in the Kalakote area of Gulabgarh forest in Rajouri on Sunday.
Based on specific intelligence Joint Operations launched in #Kalakote Area #Gulabgarh forest #Rajouri, District on 19 Nov 23.
Contact established on 22 Nov and intense firefight ensued. The terrorists have been injured and surrounded and operations are in progress, amidst acts…
— White Knight Corps (@Whiteknight_IA) November 22, 2023
“Contact established on 22 Nov and intense firefight ensued. The terrorists have been injured and surrounded and operations are in progress, amidst acts of valour and sacrifice by own bravehearts in trying to prevent collateral damage to women and children in the highest traditions of Indian Army. #Whiteknightcorps salutes the supreme sacrifice,” the White Knight Corps said in a post on X.
Officials said the operation has been intensified with induction of additional troops.
Local residents said that a cordon-and-search operation has been going on in the area since Sunday to track down terrorists operating in the area.
“Due to the operation we were asked to stay back at home and not venture out. Our children stayed back at home and did not attend the school,” a villager told news agency PTI.
The firing is going on in the forest area close to the village, he said.
Officials said the two terrorists trapped at the encounter site in Bajimaal appeared to be foreign nationals and had been moving around in the area since Sunday. They even took shelter at a place of worship, they said.
The latest encounter in Rajouri comes close on the heels of another gunfight in Behrote in Budhal area on November 17, in which one terrorist was killed.
Two earlier ambushes in the Mendhar area of Poonch and Kandi forest of Rajouri on April 20 and May 5 respectively had claimed the lives of 10 soldiers.
According to officials, 46 deaths have been recorded in terrorism-related incidents in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and nearby Reasi district since January this year.
While 23 people, including seven terrorists and nine security personnel, were killed in Rajouri, 15 terrorists and five security personnel have been killed in Poonch district. Three terrorists were killed in Reasi district.
(With PTI inputs)