Soldier killed, 2 wounded in J&K’s Kishtwar forests

JAMMU: Sepoy Gaykar Sandip Pandurang from Maharashtra was killed and two other soldiers were wounde Thursday during a gunfight with suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists in dense forests of Singhpora-Chatroo in Jammu division’s Kishtwar district, officials said.

Joint teams of Army’s 2 Para Special Forces, Assam Rifles, 11 Rashtriya Rifles, J&K police’s Special Operation Group (SOG), and local police launched a cordon and search around 7am based on intelligence. Terrorists opened fire as forces closed in, hitting three soldiers. One died at a nearby hospital, while two were moved to military command hospital in Udhampur for treatment.

White Knight Corps confirmed the fatality on X and said additional troops have been deployed. “Operation is ongoing to neutralise terrorists,” it posted. Officials said reinforcements were rushed to prevent any escape and intermittent gunfire continues.

Sepoy Pandurang was from a village near Akole in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district. His death marks the ninth fatality among security forces in Jammu division this year in shootouts with terrorists. In Feb, an IED blast near LoC in Akhnoor killed Capt Karamjit Singh Bakshi and Naik Mukesh Singh Manhas during a patrol.

Since March 23, five gunfights with terrorists have erupted across Jammu division — three in Kathua, one in Udhampur, and one in Kishtwar. Four policemen lost their lives, while three others and a minor girl were wounded on March 27 in Kathua.

On April 11, Subedar Kuldeep Chand of 9 Punjab was killed along LoC in Akhnoor sector; and on April 24, Havaldar Jhantu Ali Sheikh from 6 Para Special Forces died in a gunfight in Udhampur district.

On April 12, JeM commander Saifullah and two others were killed in Chatroo’s Naidgam area. Forces found an M4 carbine, an AK-47, Pakistan-made rations, and medicines at the site.

Between May and Dec last year, J&K witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks. Over 30 terrorists were killed in counter-offensives, while security forces recorded 25 casualties — 19 in Jammu and six in Kashmir.