One Soldier Martyred, Two Injured in Ongoing Gunfight with Terrorists in J&K’s Kishtwar
A soldier was martyred and two others were injured in an ongoing encounter between joint security forces and terrorists in the Singhpora Chatroo area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Thursday, officials confirmed.
The slain soldier has been identified as Sepoy Gaykar Sandip Pandurang, a native of Karandi village in Akole tehsil of Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district. The injured personnel have been moved to a nearby hospital for treatment. Their condition remains undisclosed.
The operation, codenamed “Op Trashi,” began in the early hours of Thursday after intelligence inputs suggested the presence of three to four Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists in the region. Security forces, including 2 Para, 11 Rashtriya Rifles, 7 Assam Rifles, and the J&K Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG), launched a cordon and search operation (CASO) to trap the suspected militants.
“As the cordon tightened, the terrorists opened fire, triggering the ongoing encounter,” a senior official said, adding that contact has been established with the militants and reinforcements have been rushed in to neutralize them.
The Indian Army’s White Knight Corps, in an update on X, stated:
“Contact has been established with #terrorists during a joint #operation with @JmuKmrPolice at #Chhatru, #Kishtwar. Additional troops have been inducted. Operations ongoing to neutralize the terrorists.”
Earlier unconfirmed reports indicated that two terrorists may have been killed, but no official statement has been released yet.
This encounter comes amid heightened military operations across Jammu and Kashmir following the April 22 Pahalgam massacre, where Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists killed 26 civilians, including 25 tourists and a local, after segregating them based on religion.
In response, India launched precision-guided strikes targeting terrorist infrastructure in Muridke (Lahore), Bahawalpur, Kotli, and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Pakistan retaliated with heavy shelling across the Line of Control (LoC), destroying over 200 homes and shops, forcing hundreds to flee their villages.
While both nations agreed to a ceasefire on June 12, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh warned Pakistan that the peace would hold only if “no terror activity is allowed on its soil.” He described the truce as a “probation period” for Pakistan.
As of now, security operations continue in multiple border areas, with forces also engaged in clearing unexploded shells left behind by Pakistani shelling.
