Three militants killed, cop injured in Jammu & Kashmir's Doda

Three militants were killed and a police personnel were injured on Wednesday in an encounter in Sinno area of Gandoh in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir Police informed that following a tip-off regarding the presence of militants, a joint team of the police and Army launched a search operation in Sinno area during which they came under heavy fire from the militants present in the area. One of the policemen was injured in the exchange of fire which continued for several hours.

“Three terrorists have been killed in the encounter and arms and ammunition have been recovered from their possession,” officials said. The identity of the militants has not been established yet but officials claim that this group of 6 to 7 militants are foreigners who were involved in attacks on the armed forces earlier this month. Police claim to have recovered three rifles from them, including two M4 carbines and one AK-47 from the spot.


On June 11, five army men and an SPO of the J&K Police were injured in an attack in Chattergala area on the Bhaderwah-Bani road of Doda district. Next day, a policeman was injured when militants opened fire on armed forces in the forest area and fled.

Following the two incidents, the police and army had detained several suspects for questioning and simultaneously started a calibrated search operation in the area.

The Jammu division has seen infiltration of fresh batches of foreign intruders from the Line of Control and the International Border over the past few months and a conservative estimate states that over 50 foreign militants are active in the six districts of Jammu. Some of them have crossed over to Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag districts of Kashmir as well. Police maintain that the number of local militants is over 30, lowest in the past 35 years but 70-80 foreign militants across J&K remain a major challenge for them.

“We are working on the strategy to counter these foreigners in the forests and small teams would be trained to enter the forest areas where they have made hideouts over the past few years. The aim is to minimise the casualty on our side,” said an official.