Army Soldier Dies In Udhampur Terror Encounter; Joint Hunt For Militants Underway

An Army soldier who was critically injured in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district on Friday evening succumbed to his injuries, officials said on Saturday.

According to PTI, the gunfight broke out when a joint search party of the Army and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police came under fire from terrorists at the Seoj Dhar forest border in the Dudu-Basantgarh area, which connects Udhampur with Bhaderwah in Doda. The injured soldier was taken to hospital but later died.

The encounter began after security forces launched an intelligence-based operation in the higher reaches of Udhampur. Reinforcements equipped with drones and sniffer dogs were rushed from both Udhampur and Doda, and a massive search operation was resumed on Saturday morning, officials said. The area remained under cordon overnight, though no fresh contact with the terrorists was reported. Security forces believe two to three terrorists are still hiding in the forested region.

The Indian Army’s White Knight Corps had earlier stated that its troops had established contact with terrorists in the general area of Kishtwar around 8 pm on Friday. Jammu Inspector General of Police also confirmed on X that joint teams of the Army, SOG, and police were on the ground.

Several encounters have taken place in the Dudu-Basantgarh belt over the past year. On 26 June, a top Jaish-e-Mohammad commander, Haider, was killed in a gunfight in the same forest area after being active there for four years. On 25 April, an Army soldier was killed in a firefight with hiding terrorists in Basantgarh.

(With inputs from PTI)