2 Army captains among 4 soldiers killed in Jammu and Kashmir encounter

The injured Major of 9 PARA was evacuated to Command Hospital at Udhampur and is learnt to be stable.

One militant was also reportedly killed in the encounter, though his body is yet to be recovered.

Security personnel stand guard at the site after an encounter with militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, on Wednesday. (ANI Photo)

Stating that the operation was in progress, officials said the encounter started around 9 am in Bazi Mal Upper forests in Kalakote when militants opened fire on police and security forces who had launched searches following specific intelligence inputs.

The attackers appear to be part of a fresh group that recently infiltrated from across the Line of Control, sources said, adding that the police and security forces had already launched a cordon and search operation.

Earlier, on Friday, a militant was killed in a joint operation by J&K Police and security forces in Rajouri district’s Budhal area. An AK-47 rifle, three magazines, three grenades and a pouch were recovered from the slain militant, whose accomplices managed to escape.

Quoting locals, sources said that two militants on Sunday visited a house near Keri Chaddar village and asked for food. Security forces reached the area but the militants had escaped by then.

On Tuesday, militants beat up a man after he refused to give them food. He, too, reported the incident to the security forces.

In May, militants had killed five personnel belonging to the Army’s elite special forces in an ambush in the densely forested area of Budhal. An officer was injured in the explosion caused by an improvised explosive device.

A senior police officer said there have been concerted attempts by Pakistan-based militant groups to revive terror activities in Pir Panjal region comprising border Rajouri and Poonch districts.

With the signal from Pakistan-based mobile service operators spilling over to areas in close proximity to the Line of Control in both districts, militant outfits are trying to revive their old contacts by calling people on this side of the border and asking them to guide infiltrating militants to their destinations and provide them logistics.

Officials say militants are not only sending arms, ammunition and explosives, but also huge amounts of currency and narcotics through land routes across the LoC, as well as dropping them using drones.

With nearly 50 villages with a population of nearly 20,000 situated across the barbed wire fence in both these districts, a senior police officer said they along with security forces have relentlessly been carrying out cordon and search operations to ensure that militants are not able to settle down at any place. A large number of suspects have been taken into preventive custody and questioned about the presence of militants, he added.