Army commando dies in Udhampur encounter

Two days after the Pahalgam terror attack, a para commando of the Army’s Special Forces was killed and two other security personnel injured in an encounter with terrorists in the dense forest area of Basantgarh in J&K’s Udhampur district early on Thursday.

Officials said a cordon and search operation was launched in the area after information was received about the presence of Pakistani terrorists in the forests.

They said contact was established and a fierce gunfight broke out. A volley of bullets hit Havildar Jhantu Ali Shaikh of 6 PARA Special Forces. Belonging to West Bengal, he was rushed to a hospital, but succumbed to his injuries. The injured soldiers have been undergoing treatment.

“One of our bravehearts sustained grievous hurt in the initial exchange of fire and later succumbed to injuries. The operations remain ongoing,” the Nagrota-based Army’s White Knight Corps said in a statement.

It is believed that a group of Pakistani terrorists had infiltrated into Kathua through the International Border and was travelling to the higher reaches of the Jammu region to enter Kashmir.

There have been multiple reports with the intelligence agencies regarding the movement of terrorists in Kathua, Udhampur, Kishtwar and other areas of the Jammu region in recent past.

On April 9, a brief gunfight had taken place between terrorists and security forces in the Jopher-Marta belt of Udhampur. At least six encounters and two infiltration bids took place in the Jammu region from March 23 to mid-April.

Basantgarh falls on the traditional route of terrorists who infiltrate from Kathua. The area further leads to Doda, Kishtwar and the Kashmir region.

After the Pahalgam attack, search operations in different forest areas of the Jammu division have been intensified. The security forces are holding combing operations with the help of sniffer dogs and UAVs in Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur, Kishtwar and Kathua. Intelligence inputs state that there are over 50 Pakistani terrorists hiding in the forest areas of the Jammu division.

J & K