Soldier killed in encounter in J&K's Udhampur

Srinagar: An Army soldier was killed on Thursday in a fierce encounter between security forces and terrorists in the remote Dudu-Basantgarh area of Jammu’s Udhampur district, officials said.

The operation is still ongoing in the rugged area, which lies nearly three hours’ trek from Basantgarh and is frequented by nomadic herders during the summer months.

The gunfight broke out during a joint cordon-and-search operation launched by the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police, following specific intelligence inputs about militant presence in the high-altitude forested area, they said

Based on specific intelligence, a joint operation with Jammu and Kashmir Police was launched today in Basantgarh, Udhampur. Contact was established and a fierce firefight ensued. One of our bravehearts sustained grievous injuries in the initial exchange and later succumbed despite best medical efforts," the Army's Jammu-based White Knight Corps posted on X.

Officials said reinforcements have been rushed to the encounter site to seal off potential escape routes, as intermittent firing continues. The identity of the fallen soldier was not known immediately.

The encounter marks the latest in a growing number of gunfights in the Jammu region, which has witnessed a noticeable rise in terrorist activity in recent years, particularly in districts like Udhampur, Kathua, Doda, Kishtwar, Reasi, Rajouri, and Poonch—areas once considered largely free of insurgency.

Security agencies suspect that terrorist groups are attempting to re-establish a presence south of the Pir Panjal range in a bid to destabilize the relatively peaceful Jammu region and draw security forces away from Kashmir Valley.

The Dudu-Basantgarh operation comes just a day after two terrorists were killed in an encounter in the Uri sector of north Kashmir, signalling heightened militant movement across both regions.