SRINAGAR: Two army men were killed in the ongoing encounter with heavily armed militants in the dense forest area of Akhal in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, which entered the ninth day on Saturday. It is one of the longest anti-militancy operations by security forces in J&K in recent years.
The Army said two of its soldiers were killed in the gunfight with the militants in the Akhal forest area. The deceased soldiers were identified as Lance Naik Pritpal Singh and Sepoy Harminder Singh.
“Their courage and dedication will forever inspire us. Indian Army expresses deepest condolences and stands in solidarity with the bereaved families,” Srinagar-based Army’s 15 Corps posted on X.
Loud explosions and heavy gunfire were heard from the forest area during the night as well. The joint contingent of police, army and CRPF had launched a search operation in the Akhal forest area on July 1 after receiving inputs about the presence of a group of militants there.
Security forces are using drones, UAVs, helicopters and other surveillance gadgets to track the movement of militants hiding in the dense forest, where natural caves provide safe havens. Forces have also dropped explosives on some suspected militant hideouts. This is the first time in an anti-militancy operation that drones have been used to target militant hideouts.
Elite para commandos armed with the latest gadgets have joined the search and are assisting troops on the ground in hunting down the militants. A security official said forces are in no hurry and are taking their time.
“The security forces are moving very cautiously to avoid casualties and also to dry up ration and ammunition of the militants hiding in the forest area,” he said.
Sources said that during the gunfight so far, two militants have been killed, though there has been no official confirmation. Security forces suspect the presence of a group of 5–7 well-trained and heavily armed militants, comprising locals and foreigners, in the forest area.
The GoC of 15 Corps, Lieutenant General Prashant Srivastava, and Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat are supervising the operation. It is the longest anti-militancy operation in Kashmir since September 2023.
In September 2023, an encounter between militants and security forces in the dense forest area of Kokernag in south Kashmir lasted seven days, in which four security personnel — including the Commanding Officer of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, his deputy, and a Deputy Superintendent of Police — and a local Lashkar militant were killed.
The Kulgam encounter is also the second major gunfight in Kashmir in the last 10 days. On July 28, three Pakistani militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba, who were involved in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Dachigam forest area of Harwan on the outskirts of Srinagar.