A terrorist was killed and non commissioned officer (NCO) injured in an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in the Kupwara district of Kashmir on Wednesday even as there has been a spike in terror activity mostly south of the Pir Panjal mountains, which divide Jammu and the Kashmir Valley.
In a post on X, the Army said the exchange was triggered after it launched a joint search operation along with Jammu and Kashmir Police based on a specific input regarding the presence of terrorists on Tuesday. “On 24 July [Wednesday], suspicious movement was observed and challenged by vigilant troops, in response to which terrorists opened indiscriminate fire. In the ensuing firefight, one terrorist has been eliminated and an NCO injured. Operation is in progress,” the Army’s Chinar Corps said.
People aware of the matter said the scene of the gunbattle—Trimukha Top forest—is near the Army’s Divar camp, which keeps a watch on movement in the Lolab Valley. The forest connects Lolab with Bandipora and Baramulla districts. The terrorists use it to sneak from one district to another after infiltrating from across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir.
The gunfight broke out days after the Army foiled an infiltration bid in Kupwara’s Keran sector and killed two terrorists. On July 14, three terrorists were killed as security forces foiled another infiltration bid in Keran.
The region has been on alert amid an increase in terror attacks. The Army has been using drones, quadcopters, and human intelligence to track the movement of terrorists and thwart infiltrations. Keran has been used as a regular infiltration route. In April, the Army killed two infiltrators in Baramulla’s Uri. It was the first such attempt of the year.
The gunbattle in Kupwara was triggered a day after a soldier, Lance Naik Subhash Chander from Uttar Pradesh, was killed in an exchange of fire with terrorists as the Army thwarted an infiltration bid along the LoC in the Poonch district of the Jammu region, which has been on the edge amid spike in terror activities.
On Monday, terrorists attacked village defence guard Parshotam Kumar’s residence and an army picket at Gundna Khawas in the neighbouring Rajouri. Kumar’s uncle, Vijay Kumar, and a soldier were wounded in the predawn attack two days after Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi reviewed the security scenario at a joint meeting with police, paramilitary forces, and intelligence agencies in Jammu on Saturday amid a series of attacks in the region.
This year, 28 people, including 12 security personnel, a village defence guard, and five terrorists, have been killed in nearly a dozen attacks in six districts of Jammu. Four Army personnel, including an officer, died in a gunfight with terrorists in the Doda district on Tuesday last. Five soldiers were killed and five wounded in a terrorist ambush a week earlier in Kathua.
The Army has sent more troops to the region, reoriented its units, and strengthened the intelligence network for counterterror operations.
Security forces recalibrated their responses as Jammu, Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi districts became clear targets for Pakistan-based terror groups. Seven soldiers were killed in counterterror operations in the Kashmir Valley last year compared to 20 in the Rajouri-Poonch sector. A total of 71 terrorists were killed in Jammu and Kashmir in 2023, including 51 in the Kashmir Valley and 20 in the Rajouri-Poonch area.
The Kathua attack came after twin gunbattles in the Kulgam district of Kashmir in which six terrorists and two soldiers were killed this month. On June 9, armed terrorists attacked a pilgrim bus in Reasi leaving nine people dead and 42 others injured. Three terrorists were killed after a gunfight broke out between terrorists and security forces in the Gandoh area of Doda district on June 26.