2 soldiers killed, 3 injured in encounter with terrorists in J&K’s Anantnag

Two soldiers were killed and three others got injured in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, officials said on Saturday.

Based on specific intelligence inputs, a joint operation involving the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was launched in the Kokernag area of Anantnag district.

The encounter took place in the dense Ahlan Gagarmandu forest, a remote part of the Kokernag area. As security forces carried out a cordon and search operation, the terrorists, who were hiding in the forest, opened fire indiscriminately upon the approaching search parties, officials said.

In the ensuing gunfight, five army personnel sustained injuries and were quickly evacuated and rushed to a nearby hospital, where two of them died. Reinforcements have been rushed to the area, and an operation to track down and neutralize the terrorists was going on when last reports were received, the officials said.

Earlier, Chinar Corps of the Indian Army posted on X, “Based on specific intelligence input, a Joint Operation was launched by #IndianArmy, @JmuKmrPolice & @crpf_srinagar today in general area Kokernag, Anantnag. Contact was established and firefight ensued. Two personnel have been injured and evacuated from the area.”

The Army confirmed that two civilians were reported injured due to “indiscriminate, desperate and reckless firing by terrorists in the ongoing operation.” ‘They have been provided immediate medical aid and evacuated further,” it added.