REMOTE FOREST VILLAGE: Two Army personnel were injured in an encounter with militants in a remote forest village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district in the wee hours of Thursday as security forces continued their operation despite inclement weather and challenging terrain, officials said. The encounter, which lasted for over an hour, broke out at around 2 am late night in Jaddan Bata village in Kastigarh area when militants opened fire on a temporary security camp set up at a government school for the ongoing search operation, officials said. Separately, security forces guarding a forward post opened fire after observing suspicious activity near the Line of Control (LoC) in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district late on Wednesday night. The area was searched on Thursday morning but nothing indicative of the suspicious activity was found on the ground, officials said. A massive search operation is underway in Doda after four Army personnel, including a Captain, were killed in the forests of Desa during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. They said the security forces are committed to eliminate militants and restore peace in the area.
“All security forces on the ground are engaged in a well-coordinated operation against the militants with whom we had contact yesterday and today as well. The operation is in progress and we will get success soon,” deputy inspector general of police, Doda-Kishtwar, Ramban range, Shridhar Patil told reporters in Kastigarh. He, however, refused to share more details citing that the operation was ongoing. Two Army jawans were injured when the militants attacked the forces camping inside a school building before fleeing into a dense forest area, officials said. Heavy rain and thick fog added to the challenge as security forces continued to search for the fleeing militants – believed to be the same group that killed four Army jawans. A massive search operation was launched in Desa and surrounding forest areas following the killing of the Army jawans. The operation entered the fourth day on Thursday and there was also a brief exchange of fire at two places in the forests of Desa on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. Doda district, which was freed from terrorism in 2005, has witnessed a series of attacks since June 12 when six security personnel were injured in a terror attack at Chattergala Pass, followed by a gunfight in Gandoh the next day in which a policeman was injured. Three militants were killed in a day-long operation in Gandoh area of the district on June 26, while another encounter took place in Ghadi Bhagwa forest on July 9. A total of 27 people, including 11 security personnel, a Village Defence Guard and five militants, have been killed in nearly a dozen terror attacks in six districts of Jammu province since the beginning of this year. The dead also included seven pilgrims returning from Shiv Khori temple in Reasi district on June 9.
