Jammu: Captain among four Army personnel killed in Doda encounter

JAMMU: In the latest terror attack in the Doda district of Jammu region, four Army personnel, including a captain, died after being injured in a gunfight with heavily armed terrorists, officials said on Tuesday.

Captain Brijesh Thapa from Darjeeling, Naik Dokkari Rajesh from Andhra Pradesh, and Sepoys Bijendra and Ajay Kumar Singh from Rajasthan suffered fatal injuries in the gunfight in the Desa forest area. The Army has rushed reinforcements to track and neutralise the terrorists.

This was the third major encounter between security forces and terrorists in the forests of Doda district in the past three weeks. The terror attack in Doda district comes a week after a terrorist ambush on an Army patrol in the remote Machedi forest belt in Kathua district that claimed the lives of five soldiers and injured as many.

Troops of the Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police launched a joint cordon and search operation at Dhari Gote Urarbagi in the Desa forest belt, some 55 km from Doda town, late on Monday evening when the encounter took place, the officials said.

After a brief exchange of fire, the terrorists tried to escape but were chased by the troops led by the captain despite the challenging terrain and thick foliage, they said, adding this led to another firefight around 9 pm on Monday. Five soldiers were critically injured in the encounter. Four of them, including the captain, later succumbed to injuries, the officials said.

It is suspected that a group of six to eight militants were involved, including foreign militants— much higher than the number assessed initially.

These militants are believed to be the same group who had fled after attacking the security forces and the police in the district’s Sezan forests on the evening of July 9, sources have said.

Meanwhile, the Kashmir Tigers, a JeM shadow group, has claimed responsibility for the latest attack.

In a statement, the Army said it has been conducting a series of joint and coordinated operations with Jammu and Kashmir Police to eliminate foreign terrorists who have infiltrated from across the border and are moving in the upper reaches of Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar districts in Jammu region and thereafter to Kashmir.

“All formations of northern command are committed to eliminating the scourge of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir for which the relentless operations will continue,” the Army said.

The officials said the Army and police mobilised reinforcements on Monday night itself and launched a fresh search of the area with more troops on Tuesday morning.

The Army’s elite para-commandos were deployed while drones and helicopters were also pressed into service for surveillance, they said.

According to the officials, there was no fresh contact with the terrorists on Tuesday who are believed to have infiltrated from across the border and been hiding in the forest area for the past couple of months.

“A joint operation with J&K Police was launched in general area Urarbagi on Monday at around 8.40 pm and the search party was able to establish contact with the terrorists hiding in the area, which is a thickly forested and mountainous area with restricted visibility due to low clouds and rain,” the Army said while giving details of the terror incident.

“In the initial volley of fire, four Army personnel were injured, who later succumbed to their injuries. Additional troops and equipment have been inducted to flush out the terrorists and use of drones and other technical resources is being ensured,” the statement said, withholding further details due to security considerations regarding the ongoing operations.

“We deeply regret the loss of precious lives of our four brave soldiers who have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty,” it said.

Similar operations are being conducted in the Kathua area in a relentless manner, it said, adding series of operations in the recent past have resulted in neutralisation of three terrorists in Gandoh on June 26, besides successfully thwarting Chattargala terrorist attack on June 11.

Analysis of large quantities of warlike stores recovered from the dead terrorists reveal the hand of inimical agencies from across the border, the Army said.

The Army said similar intelligence-based and area domination operations are continuing in the Kashmir region, North of Pir Panjal ranges.

“Line of Control and fence is intact and alert troops have recently neutralised three terrorists attempting to infiltrate along with a large quantity of war-like stores in Kupwara region on July 14. Intelligence-based operations have also been conducted to foil infiltration attempts in Lam (Rajouri), south of Pir Panjal ranges on July 10,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he is “deeply saddened” by the loss of lives and asserted that the security forces are committed to eliminating the scourge of terrorism in the region. Chief of Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi also briefed Singh on the anti-terror operation in Doda district.

General Dwivedi and all ranks of the Army paid tributes to the bravehearts who laid down their lives while undertaking the counter-terror operation.

“Indian Army stands firm with the bereaved families in this hour of grief,” Additional Directorate General of Public Information of the Indian Army posted on ‘X’.

The Jammu region, which remained relatively peaceful between 2005 and 2021 after security forces wiped out decades-long terrorism, witnessed a spike in terror attacks over the past month. It included an attack on a pilgrim bus that left nine persons dead and 40 injured.

Terror activities resurfaced in October 2021 from the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. Some of the deadly attacks that spread to Reasi, Kathua and Doda were attributed by the security establishment as an attempt by Pakistani handlers to revive terrorism in the Jammu region.

Over 70 people, including 52 security personnel — mostly from the Army — have been killed in terror-related incidents in the Jammu region since 2021. Most of the casualties were from Rajouri and Poonch districts where 54 terrorists were also eliminated, the officials said.

Three terrorists were also killed in Reasi district and two others in Kathua district, they added.

The Army said a number of measures have been instituted to enhance synergy between various agencies.

“These include joint training with J&K Police and Central Armed Police Forces and robust intelligence sharing mechanism between Army, police and other intelligence agencies,” the official release said.

“Clear guidelines have been enunciated towards ensuring no collateral damage and disruption in day-to-day life of the locals in the area. Close interaction with local populace is also ensured for flow of intelligence inputs,” the statement said.

In light of the incidents in the recent past, the Army said that proactive counter-terrorist operations continue to be prosecuted. With Agency Inputs