Four Army personnel and one militant were killed in an encounter in the Dharamsal village in Kalakote tehsil in the border district of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, November 22.
Two other army personnel were injured.
The encounter broke out between the joint forces of the J&K police and the Indian Army and militants. Reports suggest that militants started firing on a search party that was a part of cordon and search operation in the area, launched a few days ago.
The fierce gunfight was going on in the area with the induction of more troops to neutralise two militants trapped at the spot, they said.
On Friday, November 17, a militant was killed in the Budhal area of Rajouri district. An AK-47 rifle, three magazines, three grenades, and a pouch were recovered from his possession.
Officials said the operation has been intensified with the deployment of additional troops. Local residents said that a cordon and search operation had been going on in the area since Sunday to track down militants.
“Due to the operation, we were asked to stay back at home and not venture out. Our children stayed back at home and did not attend the school,” a villager told PTI.
The firing is going on in the forest area close to the village, he said. Officials said, the two armed men trapped at the encounter site in Bajimaal appeared to be foreign nationals and had been moving around in the area since Sunday. They even took shelter at a place of worship, they said.
The border districts of Rajouri and Poonch have witnessed increased militancy incidents over the past one-and-a-half years.
On November 17, a militant was killed in an encounter with security forces in the Guller Behrote area of Rajouri district.
On August 7, another militant was gunned down as an infiltration attempt from across the border was foiled by the Army in the Degwar area of Poonch district.
Five Army soldiers were killed during an anti-terror operation in the Kesari hills of Rajouri district on May 5.
(With inputs from PTI)
