7 soldiers injured in Kishtwar gunfight

Srinagar: Seven soldiers of the Army were injured on Sunday in an encounter with terrorists in a remote forested area in the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, officials said. A Jaish-e-Muhammad group is believed to be trapped in the area.

The officials informed that the exchange of fire started during a cordon and search operation at Sonnar village near Mandral-Singhoora in Chatru area of Kishtwar. They said reinforcements have been rushed to the area and the operation continued till late evening.

"Contact was established with terrorists in Son Nar, northeast of Chhatru, during a search operation conducted as part of the ongoing joint counter-terror operations along with the J&K police," Jammu-based White Knight Corps of the Indian Army informed. Army officials said the operations remain underway with additional forces inducted to reinforce the cordon, supported by close coordination with the civil administration and security agencies.


Kishtwar has seen eight encounters over the past nine months as forces continue operations against foreign infiltrators hiding in these hills.

Police and Army have maintained that despite the ceasefire since February 2021, several infiltrators have managed to cross the Line of Control and International Border, and are active in Jammu and some parts of Kashmir. They maintain that foreign infiltrators remain "a major challenge" for the security grid here in the coming months. Security forces have been engaged in massive anti-terror operations, especially in high-altitude areas across Jammu, for over three years now, where foreign infiltrators are hiding in the dense forest areas.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on January 8 directed security forces to "continue operations targeting terrorist infrastructure and terror financing in a mission mode". Following this, Union home secretary Govind Mohan on January 15 held a meeting with J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha in Jammu and discussed the security situation and operational preparedness of the security grid in the Union Territory.