Rajouri/Jammu, November 23
A fresh exchange of fire took place on Thursday between terrorists and security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, where four Army personnel were killed and two others injured in an encounter, officials said.
The fresh firing resumed on Thursday morning after a night-long halt in Bajimaal area of Dharmsal belt, officials said.
The area was cordoned off overnight with induction of additional security forces to ensure that terrorists engaged in the encounter do not escape from the area, which is highly forested, they said.
The treacherous terrain of Reasi-Rajouri-Poonch coupled with limited road connectivity is posing a difficulty in carrying out the operation, they said.
“Isolated dhoks (huts made of mud) in villages nestled in the mountains make the civilian population, particularly women and children, vulnerable to terrorists,” an officer said.
The encounter broke out in Bajimaal area following a cordon-and-search operation on Wednesday. Two captains were among four security personnel killed in the encounter.
A major and another jawan suffered injuries in the encounter, they said, adding that the injured had been shifted to the Army’s Command Hospital in Udhampur.
In a post on X, the White Knight Corps of the Army said that based on specific intelligence, joint operations were launched in Kalakote area of Gulabgarh forest in Rajouri on Sunday.
“Contact established on 22 Nov and intense firefight ensued. The terrorists have been injured and surrounded and oprations are in progress, amidst acts of valour and sacrifice by own brave hearts in trying to prevent collateral damage to women and children in the highest traditions of Indian Army,” it said.
