An Indian Army soldier fighting terrorists in the rugged hills of Jammu and Kashmir’s Dudu Basantgarh area has died from injuries he suffered during a fierce gun battle. The clash unfolded on Saturday in the border zone between Doda and Udhampur districts, where joint teams of security forces launched an anti-terror operation based on solid intelligence about hidden militants.
The soldier got hit in the early exchanges of fire and couldn’t be saved, officials confirmed. They’re keeping his name private for now as formalities wrap up. This loss highlights the tough risks troops face in these steep, forested terrains while battling terrorism.
Right now, the encounter rages on, with reports saying two or three militants are cornered and can’t easily slip away. Extra reinforcements have rushed in, and forces have sealed off escape paths to keep the pressure on.
Security teams have ramped up their efforts in Doda and nearby spots lately, responding to a spike in terrorist moves in the high altitudes. Jammu’s Inspector General of Police shared on X: “Encounter is in progress. Joint teams of SOG, police and Indian Army on ground.”
This isn’t the first clash here. Back on June 26, troops took down Haider, a top commander for the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group. He’d been stirring trouble in the Dudu-Basantgarh forests for four years. And on April 25, another soldier lost his life in a shootout with militants hiding in Basantgarh.
The action didn’t stop there. In Kishtwar district, an ongoing anti-terrorist operation kept going strong on Saturday. Meanwhile, in Poonch, joint forces uncovered a stash of war-like stores during a search. The Nagrota-based White Knight Corps posted on X about the Kishtwar contact: “In an Intelligence-based operation… alert troops established contact with terrorists at around 8 P.M. on 19 Sep 25. Exchange of fire took place. Operations are currently in progress.”
For the Poonch find, they reported: “Alert #WhiteKnightCorps troops… recovered one weapon (AK Series), four AK magazines, 20 Hand Grenades and other war-like stores in Poonch Sector. #SearchOperation in progress.”
Across Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Army and police units are hitting terrorists hard, along with their overground workers and supporters. They’re also targeting drug smugglers and hawala money networks, which intelligence points to as key funding sources for militants in the union territory.
This multi-pronged approach aims to break down the whole terror ecosystem. Many of these drug and hawala rackets trace back across the Line of Control and International Border, agencies say.
Jammu and Kashmir spans a 240-km International Border in Jammu, Kathua, and Samba districts—guarded by the Border Security Force—and a 740-km Line of Control through areas like Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Poonch, and Rajouri, watched by the Indian Army. These borders stay hotspots for infiltration and smuggling that fuel unrest.
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