Jammu, July 18: Two army personnel were injured early Thursday during a gunfight with terrorists in a remote forest village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district. The encounter, which lasted more than an hour, occurred at Jaddan Bata village in the Kastigarh area around 2 am when terrorists opened fire on a temporary security camp established in a government school for ongoing search operations.
Security forces have continued their operations despite inclement weather and challenging terrain. Heavy rains and dense fog have added to the difficulty as the manhunt for the fleeing terrorists, believed to be the same group that killed four army personnel earlier in the week, continues.
Deputy Inspector General of Police for the Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban range, Shridhar Patil, confirmed the ongoing operation and expressed confidence in its success. “All security forces on the ground are engaged in a well-coordinated operation against terrorists with whom we had contact yesterday and today as well. The operation is under progress, and we will get success soon,” Patil told reporters in Kastigarh, though he declined to share more details due to the sensitive nature of the operation.
“We are determined to eliminate the terrorists and restore peace in the area,” he added.
Separately, security forces guarding a forward post in the Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district opened fire late Wednesday night after observing suspicious movement near the Line of Control (LoC). A search of the area on Thursday morning yielded no evidence linked to the suspicious activity.
In Doda, a massive search operation is underway following the killing of four army personnel, including a captain, in the Desa forests during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. The search operation, which entered its fourth day on Thursday, also witnessed brief exchanges of fire at two locations in the Desa forests on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.
Doda district, cleared of terrorism in 2005, has experienced a series of attacks since June 12, when six security personnel were injured in a terror attack at the Chattergala pass. This was followed by a firefight in Gandoh the next day, resulting in one injured policeman. On June 26, three terrorists were killed in a day-long operation in Gandoh, and another encounter occurred in the Ghadi Bhagwah forest on July 9.
So far this year, nearly a dozen terror attacks in six districts of Jammu province have resulted in the deaths of 27 people, including 11 security personnel, a village defense guard, and five terrorists. Among the victims were seven pilgrims returning from the Shiv Khori temple in Reasi district on June 9.