SRINAGAR: Two Army officers and two jawans lost their lives, with three others injured during an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district. The intense gun battle in the Bajimaal area of Dharmsal continued as additional troops were deployed.
The encounter reportedly began on Wednesday morning.
The casualties included two captains and two havildars, while the injured were transported to the Army’s Command Hospital in Udhampur.
The deceased have been identified as Captain MV Pranjal from 63 Rashtriya Rifles, along with Captain Shubham and Havildar Majid from 9 PARA. According to reports, soldiers from 9 PARA entered the forests to evacuate Captain Pranjal but faced intense gunfire.
Authorities stated that the encounter commenced at approximately 9 am in the Bazi Mal Upper forests in Kalakote. Militants initiated gunfire on police and security forces conducting searches based on specific intelligence inputs.
The trapped militants, suspected to be foreign nationals, had been in the area since Sunday, media reports said.
The border districts of Rajouri and Poonch have seen an increase in militancy incidents over the past eighteen months.
On November 17, a militant was killed in an encounter in the Guller Behrote area of Rajouri. On August 7, the Army thwarted an infiltration attempt, resulting in the killing of a militant in the Degwar area of Poonch. Additionally, on May 5, five Army soldiers lost their lives during an anti-militancy operation in the Kesari hills of Rajouri district.
