Militants, believed to have escaped after killing four Indian Army personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda on Monday night, engaged in a brief firefight with security forces early Wednesday in a forested area of the district.
Sources report that the skirmish occurred around 1 am when the militants fired on the search teams in Doda’s Bhatta Dessa forests. The security forces responded, and after a short exchange of gunfire, the militants fled. During their escape, they encountered a Village Defence Group (VDG) and exchanged fire briefly before disappearing into the higher reaches of the area.
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Intensive search operations involving security forces, Jammu Kashmir Police, and Central Armed Police Force personnel are ongoing in the region, officials stated.
On Monday night, militants launched an attack on a joint search team of Army and police personnel in the forest area, resulting in the death of a Captain among four soldiers. This group is believed to be the same that fled after attacking security forces and police in the Sezan forests of Foda district on July 9.
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The Army had confirmed the initiation of contact with the terrorists around 9 pm, which led to a heavy exchange of gunfire. “Contact with terrorists was established at about 9 pm in which heavy firefight ensued. Initial reports suggest injuries to our bravehearts,” the Army posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday night.
The security forces and Jammu and Kashmir Police have been executing a series of coordinated operations to eliminate militants suspected of infiltrating from across the border and moving through the upper regions of Udhampur, Doda, and Kishtwar districts.
Searches in the forests of Doda have been active since terrorists attacked a patrol party, killing an SPO, on April 28 in Udhampur’s Basantgarh area, which borders Bhaderwah’s Seij Dhar area.
