In an operation that lasted many days, five soldiers including two Captain rank officers were killed by militants in upper Rajouri areas. Though the two militants were eventually killed, the events indicate that militancy is gradually shifting base, reports Faiqa Masoodi
In Rajouri’s Bajimaal area, two army officers were among five soldiers who lost their lives in a two-day gun battle with militants last week. Subsequently, two Pakistani militants were killed after which the operation was successfully called off. The soldiers who fell in the line of duty include Captain MV Pranjal of Mangalore (Karnataka), Captain Shubham Gupta of Agra (UP), Havaldar Abdul Majid of Ajote (Poonch), Lance Naik Sanjay Bisht of Nainital (Uttarakhand) and para-trooper Sachin Laur of Nagaliya Giurola in UP’s Aligarh.
According to Lt Col Suneel Bartwal, Defence PRO Jammu, the army was monitoring the movements of the militants after receiving information about their presence for the last month.
“A month prior, search efforts were conducted, and on Wednesday, communication was established with the terrorists who were hiding. All intelligence agencies were working to eliminate this threat. After the terrorists were successfully eliminated, we concluded the operation yesterday,” PRO said. Recoveries include a sizable quantity of weapons, ammunition, and supplies. The searches of the area are still ongoing.
The operation began on November 17, after a militant was killed in an encounter in the Behrote Budhal area of Rajouri where two to three militants were believed to be trapped.
“One terrorist neutralised, huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the encounter site Behrot in Budhal of Rajouri District. The identity of the terrorist is being ascertained. Search operation underway,” Jammu and Kashmir Police had said.
In the aftermath of the skirmish, militants were spotted traversing the neighbouring villages, foraging for sustenance among the local populace. The Wire reported that security personnel received at least two tips regarding the presence of militants in the area on November 19.
Following the tips, a joint team of security forces comprising the Army and JK Police among other central paramilitary forces launched search operations in Ziarat, Mal, Gulabgarh forest, and the Solaki area of Kalakote in Rajouri district where militants were believed to be hiding.
The Hindustan Times reported that the two militants were first spotted at a house in Kalakote asking for food. “They had visited the house on Sunday where they were seen talking to women for food. A video of the duo is being shared widely on social media.”
The contact with the militants was established on November 22 when the security forces were laying a cordon around the area. The militants with heavy weapons were firmly established on the hillsides of Solki, resulting in a bloody gunfight in the district’s Baajimal neighbourhood.
The Wire reported that the intensity of the fire was so high that the joint team had to retreat, leaving some of the injured behind, and regroup, before taking on the militants.
On day one of operation four army personnel, including two captains, were killed. Another soldier succumbed to his injuries on day two of the operation. The forces were able to neutralise two militants on the same day.
In a post on X, the White Knight Corps of the Army said that based on specific intelligence, joint operations were launched in the Kalakote area of Gulabgarh forest in Rajouri on Sunday. “Contact was established on 22 November and an intense firefight ensued. The terrorists have been injured and surrounded and operations are in progress, amidst acts of valour and sacrifice by their own brave hearts in trying to prevent collateral damage to women and children in the highest traditions of the Indian Army,” it said.
Qurai, one of the militants killed in the encounter is believed to have been the mastermind behind the twin attacks on Dangri and Kandi in Rajouri in June 2023, in which six people were killed. A well-trained sniper and an explosives expert, Qurai, a top LeT commander, was a Pakistani national, who was an expert sniper and well-trained in guerrilla warfare and improvised explosive devices (IED). He had been active in Rajouri for over a year.
“Quari was known to be the mastermind behind #Dangri incident, in which six innocent civilians were killed on Jan 23, as well as #Kandi attacks in the #rajouri #poonch areas. He was instrumental in the revival of terrorism in these districts,” Army’s 16 Corps wrote on X.
The Dangri Attack is a key link to a series of gun battles that rocked the Pir Panchal Valley comprising Rajouri and Poonch districts.
On first January 2023, gunmen in a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) drove up to Dangri village in Pir Panchal, nearly 7 km from Rajouri, and attacked, killing four civilians and injuring six more. The incident made headlines around the world. According to the police, the individuals who vanished in the nearby forests under the cover of darkness were militants.
The attack occurred shortly after former Police Chief Dilbagh Singh declared the Jammu division “almost” free of militancy in November 2022.
Bhata Dhurian: On April 20, militants at Bhata Dhurian in Poonch killed five soldiers from the Army’s counterinsurgency wing, the Rashtriya Rifles. The soldiers were en route to Sangiote with a truck full of fruits and other provisions for an iftar party. Locals said that invitations to the 7 pm event had been sent to a number of people in the village and that the Rashtriya Rifles unit was in charge of making the arrangements. Around 3 pm, the attack happened. There was barely time for the soldiers to respond as two or three foreign militants threw grenades and fired bullets into the truck. Locals and Army personnel flocked to the scene as soon as they heard about the attack. They found the charred bodies of five soldiers and a sixth in critical condition
Kandi Kotranka Attack: In May five Army personnel were killed and a Major (Special Forces) wounded in an explosion triggered by militants during a gunfight in the thickly forested Kandi Kotrankai area of Kotranka sub-division area of Rajouri district where troops had engaged terrorists hiding in a cave.
Surankote Poonch: In July 2023, the first major successful operation against militants in the area after multiple attacks in Rajouri and Poonch since January led to the killing of four militants in an encounter with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.
Alpha Gate (Rajouri): In December 2022, bullet-riddled bodies were recovered outside an Army camp in Rajouri district on the morning of December 16.
Kotranka Explosions in March-April 2022 four consecutive blats in 28 days in areas of Kotranka sub division in Rajouri district put security forces on tenterhooks.
In addition to these assaults, gun battles periodically rocked the twin districts in the Pir Panchal Range with most of them ending in less than 24 hours.
According to media reports, 46 deaths have been recorded in militancy-related incidents in Rajouri and Poonch and nearby Reasi district since January 2023. While 23 people, including seven militants and nine security personnel, were killed in Rajouri, 15 militants and five security personnel were killed in Poonch district.
= The area saw peace in 2000 after being a hub of insurgency in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Nonetheless, officials report that despite a discernible decline in local recruitment, the border districts have seen a relative spike in militancy-related incidents over the past few years due to a rise in militant infiltration and drone weapon drops.
Historically, Rajouri and Poonch were a part of the erstwhile Poonch estate, a part of which lies on the other side of LoC Post-Partition. Rajouri, with an area of 2,630 square kilometres, has Poonch district to the north, Reasi district to the east, Kotli district on the other side of LoC to the west and Jammu district to the south.
Poonch, another district in the Jammu region, lies to the north of Rajouri. With an area of 1,674 square kilometres, it is bordered by Kulgam, Shopian, and Budgam districts to the east, Rajouri district to the south, Baramulla and Haveli districts on the other side of LoC to the north, and a part of Poonch district on other side of LoC to the west.
Both districts share a long border of more than 200 kilometres with Pakistan
Administered Kashmir in the form of the Line of Control (LoC), which gives
infiltrators access to the area. The entire belt is predominantly hilly, rocky, and mountainous terrain, making it easy for infiltrators to thrive there in safety.
By navigating Pir Panchal’s hilly terrain and thick vegetation, the militants are said to be utilising it strategically, and because of the strategic advantages of height and dense forest cover, encounters in the area often last for several days.
Several of the main passes in the Pir Panjal range, including Banihal, Haji Pir, and Pir Panjal Pass, provide simple access to infiltrators given their proximity to LoC.
Furthermore, foreign militants operate in the region without drawing suspicion because of their shared ethnic and religious backgrounds with the locals. Also, the practice of operating in dense forest areas instead of villages or far-flung habitations makes the Pir Panjal terrain an effective hideout.
Former DGP of JK Police, Dilbag Singh on September 9, 2023, stated that the resurgence of militancy in Jammu’s Pir Panjal region was being overseen by former local militants based in Pakistan.
“We aim to send a strong message to the local militants who have crossed the border and are attempting to resurrect terrorism that they cannot live in peace. We’re going to get to them, and those who are helping them from here are going to get a rough time,” he said.
