Militant killed, soldier injured in ongoing gunfight in Rajouri

Jammu, July 22: An unidentified militant was killed and a soldier injured on Monday in an anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district.

Officials said that the militants attacked a newly set up Army ‘Naka’ (Checkpost) near the house of a Shaurya Chakra awardee Parshotam Kumar, a village defence committee (VDC) member at the Gundha Khawas village in Rajouri district around 3 a.m.

“One soldier sustained bullet injuries in the attack while a cow was killed. The checkpost had been set up after receiving inputs about the movement of militants . Parshotam Kumar was recently awarded Shaurya Chakra by the President for helping to kill a militants in the Kalakote area of Rajouri district. After the attack, a massive search operation was launched which is now underway,” officials said.

The Army has deployed around 4,000 additional soldiers in the hilly districts of the Jammu division to deal with the group of militants operating in these districts.

Soldiers drawn from the elite Para Commandos and those trained in mountain warfare have been deployed in these districts to eradicate terrorism.

militants attacks have registered a spurt in the otherwise peaceful Jammu division. The security forces have employed a revised strategy to deal with the hit-and-run tactics of the militants.

Six militants attacks have been reported in the Jammu division since June 9 this year in which 12 security personnel have been martyred.

These attacks have taken place in the Poonch, Rajouri, Doda and Kathua districts in which the militants used the element of surprise to carry out ambushes in densely forested areas.