Eight Army soldiers were injured in a fierce encounter with Pakistani terrorists that started on Sunday in the remote forests of the high altitude area of Kishtwar district. A seriously injured soldier was airlifted to Udhampur Command Hospital. There was fierce firing from both sides for several hours. For now the firing has stopped. Additional forces have been sent to eliminate the terrorists and strengthen the siege. To prevent the terrorists from escaping, drones and sniffer dogs have also been deployed in the search operation.
According to the information, during the ongoing search and cordon operation in the forest at around 11.15 am on Sunday, the security forces encountered a group of two to three foreign terrorists lying in ambush in the forest of Sonnad-Singhpora, Chatru. Sources say that these terrorists belong to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM). As soon as the terrorists saw the soldiers, they started firing indiscriminately. Some grenades were also thrown to break the siege of the security forces.
The troops retaliated and reinforcements from the Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police were sent to further tighten the cordon. Officials said that intermittent firing between the two sides continued till 5.40 pm. Eight soldiers were injured in the encounter and were taken to hospital. One of these soldiers was airlifted to Udhampur Command Hospital. Officials said that most of them suffered injuries due to grenade splinters. A massive search operation is going on to eliminate the terrorists. Advanced surveillance equipment including drones and sniffer dogs have been deployed to intensify the operation. A joint search operation is being conducted by surrounding the entire area.
