Srinagar: Four Indian Army personnel, including two officers, were killed in an ongoing encounter with terrorists in the border Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.
A Jammu-based defence spokesman said joint operations in the Gulabgarh forest of the Kalakote area were launched on November 19 following “specific intelligence” about the presence of terrorists and that contact with the hiding militants was established on November 22.
“An 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 the Indian Army,” he said.
Sources said that the hiding militants indiscriminately fired upon the search party, resulting in grievous injuries to four army personnel, including two captains, who later succumbed in a hospital. However, the Army didn’t confirm the number of casualties among the soldiers.
The exchange of gunfire between hiding militants and the security forces was ongoing, and additional reinforcements, including the Army's elite PARA force, had been dispatched to the area, according to sources. The two to three terrorists trapped at the encounter site appeared to be foreign nationals and had been moving around in the area since Sunday.
Pertinently, the twin border districts of Rajouri-Poonch in Jammu have become hotspots for militancy in the last two years with several encounters resulting in the killings of ultras and security personnel. The terrorists use the dense forests to conceal their positions, taking advantage of the topography.
At least 30 army personnel, including five officers and five paratroopers, have lost their lives since October 2021 while confronting battle-hardened terrorists armed with sophisticated weapons.
After witnessing the dismantling of terror networks by the security forces, militant handlers across the border have altered their strategy by dispatching foreign terrorists to mountainous regions to execute ambush attacks on security forces. Experts emphasize that dealing with this form of terrorism is exceptionally challenging.
A senior police officer engaged in counter-insurgency operations mentioned that the terrorists' modified tactics signify a new pattern being employed by them to confront the security structure in J&K.
“It takes a long time to set up logistics in treacherous terrains. Since terrorists are on the run in cities, towns and villages due to relentless operations by security forces, alpine forests are becoming a new challenge. Dealing with this type of terrorism is extremely difficult,” he said.