A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Army was killed during a fierce gun battle with heavily armed terrorists near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu district late on Friday.
Officials said on Saturday that the Army successfully foiled the infiltration bid in the Keri Bhattal forest area, which witnessed intense firing.
According to officials, vigilant troops detected movement near a stream in a forward forest belt and immediately challenged the terrorists, triggering a prolonged exchange of fire. During the encounter, a JCO sustained injuries and later succumbed.
"The whole area has been cordoned off with additional reinforcements deployed. A search operation is currently underway," the officials said.
The area had witnessed a deadly ambush on 11 February this year, where two Army personnel, including a Captain, were killed and another injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast.
The latest infiltration attempt comes close on the heels of a brigade commander-level flag meeting held between India and Pakistan in the Poonch sector two days ago.
The meeting, only the second of its kind since February, aimed to address border management issues and de-escalate tensions after a series of cross-border firings and a fatal IED attack.
The Indian Army reportedly conveyed a strong protest during the meeting over recent ceasefire violations and cross-border terror activities. Instances of ceasefire violations have remained minimal since both countries reaffirmed the 2003 agreement on 25 February 2021.
Separately, Border Security Force (BSF) personnel shot dead a Pakistani intruder in the R S Pura sector on 5 April. The incident was followed by a flag meeting between the BSF and the Pakistani Rangers.
In a significant breakthrough in Kishtwar district, the Army eliminated three Pakistani terrorists belonging to the proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit during an ongoing anti-terror operation in the snow-bound Chhatru area.
The slain militants included a senior commander, Saifullah, who was active in Jammu and Kashmir’s Chenab valley region for over a year. Army sources said that despite challenging weather conditions, troops pressed on with the operation, which began on Wednesday.
"In the ongoing operations at Chhatru, Kishtwar, despite bad and inclement weather, two more Pakistani terrorists have been eliminated. A large quantity of war-like stores including one AK and one M4 rifle have been recovered," the Army’s Jammu-based White Knight Corps said in a post on X.
The operation initially commenced with the killing of one terrorist on Friday morning after security forces established contact following a brief exchange of fire. Official sources said the search for remaining militants is ongoing.
A separate counter-insurgency operation to track down three other terrorists has been underway in the Basantgarh and Ramnagar regions of Udhampur district since Wednesday. Security forces continue their search in the treacherous mountainous terrain of the region.
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