Indian Army’s JCO, 4 soldiers killed in encounter with terrorists in Jammu

The operation was launched following intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in Chamrer forests located near Mughal Road in Surankote sub division of Poonch district in Jammu.

A junior commissioned officer of the Indian Army and four soldiers were killed in an encounter with heavily armed Pakistani terrorists in Surankote area of Jammu’s Poonch district on Monday, said officials.

“A junior commissioned officer and four soldiers lost their lives during an encounter with heavily armed terrorists in Surankote area of Poonch district,” said a defence official.

The casualties took place during a cordon and search operation in Chamrer forests of Poonch.

“During the operation, the party came under heavy fire from the terrorists in which we lost a JCO and four soldiers. The operation is on to neutralise the terrorists, believed to be four to five in numbers,” the official quoted above added.

Defence spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand said the operation was launched by the Indian Army on Monday morning following intelligence inputs of terrorists’ presence in villages close to DKG in Surankote sub division of Poonch district in Jammu.

“In ensuing firefight during the ongoing encounter with terrorists, a JCO and four soldiers of Indian Army suffered critical injuries.The critically injured were evacuated to nearest medical facility but they succumbed to their injuries. The operation is still going on”, he added.

Additional reinforcements have been rushed to the area.

On August 10, the director general of police Dilbag Singh said that “after a brief lull following renewed truce deal between the two DGMOs (director general of military operations) on February 25, infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir resumed” and added that “terror camps across the border were still intact.”

In recent times there have been four encounters in Rajouri sector - Daddal in Nowshera, Sunderbani and Pangai in Thannamandi and Karyote.

By Ravi Krishnan Khajuria