A brief encounter broke out between the security forces and the terrorists in a remote forest in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir early morning on Sunday, officials said. The exchange of fire took place for a brief period when police assisted by the army and paramilitary forces launched a search operation in Nownatta, Naageni Peyaas and adjoining areas following information about the movement of terrorists, they said.
After the gunfight, the reinforcement was rushed to the encounter site. The hunt for the terrorists is currently underway. The latest gunfight comes a day after two Indian army personnel -- Havaldar Dipak Kumar Yadav and Lance Naik Praveen Sharma -- lost their lives while in the line of duty and six others, including two civilians, were injured in a fierce gunfight in Kokernag woods in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The army is conducting a search operation in Anantnag following the encounter. The forces have cornered two terrorists in the forest in Kokernag.
Rise in terror attacks in Jammu
The Jammu region, which remained relatively peaceful between 2005 and 2021 after security forces wiped out decades-long terrorism, witnessed a spike in terror attacks over the past months. It included an attack on a pilgrim bus that left nine persons dead and 40 injured. Terror activities resurfaced in October 2021 from the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. Some of the deadly attacks that spread to Reasi, Kathua and Doda were attributed by the security establishment as an attempt by Pakistani handlers to revive terrorism in the Jammu region. Over 70 people, including 52 security personnel -- mostly from the Army -- have been killed in terror-related incidents in the Jammu region since 2021.
(With PTI Inputs)
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