Kishtwar, Jan 18 — Three Army personnel were injured after a gunfight broke out during a cordon-and-search operation in a remote forested area of Kishtwar district, officials said.
The firing erupted in the Sonnar area, northeast of Chatroo, during a joint cordon-and-search operation by the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Army’s Jammu-based White Knight Corps said.
“Security forces came in contact with terrorists during a search operation. Reinforcements have been deployed to neutralise them,” the Corps said in a post on X.
Officials said a search party detected the presence of two to three foreign militants, believed to be affiliated with the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), who opened fire and lobbed grenades in an attempt to escape the cordon.
Troops retaliated, leading to intermittent exchanges of fire, officials said. Additional contingents of the Army, CRPF and police were rushed to strengthen the cordon.
“Three soldiers suffered splinter injuries and were evacuated to hospital. The operation is continuing,” an official said.
The Army said additional forces had been inducted and that the operation was being conducted in coordination with civil administration and other security agencies. Drones and sniffer dogs have been deployed to assist ground forces.
This is the third gunfight this year during anti-militancy operations in the Jammu region. Earlier operations were reported in the Kahog and Najote forests of Kathua’s Billawar area on January 7 and 13.
Last month, a police officer was killed during an operation at Soan village in Udhampur’s Majalta area.
Forces have stepped up operations ahead of Republic Day amid intelligence inputs suggesting attempts by Pakistan-based handlers to push militants across the border, officials said.