Jammu, Nov 5: An Indian Army paratrooper was injured on Wednesday during an encounter between security forces and terrorists in the Kalaban forest area of Chatroo sub-division in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, officials said.
The injured soldier was airlifted to the Command Hospital in Udhampur for treatment. Security forces had launched a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) after receiving specific intelligence inputs regarding the presence of terrorists in the forested area.
“As troops approached the hideout, terrorists opened fire, triggering a fierce exchange,” officials said, adding that the operation is still underway.
Earlier, the Nagrota-based White Knight Corps confirmed the encounter in a post on X, stating: “In an intelligence-based operation, in concert with @jk_police, alert troops of #WhiteKnightCorps established contact with terrorists in the general area of Chhatru. Fire exchanged with terrorists. Operation is in progress.”
The Kishtwar district has seen a surge in terrorist activity, witnessing six encounters in the past seven months as security forces intensify counter-terror operations.
On September 21, terrorists clashed with forces in Chatroo, and on September 13, two Army personnel, including a junior commissioned officer, were killed in Naidgram. Similar gunfights were reported in Dul and Chatroo on August 11 and July 2, while a May 22 operation claimed the lives of two terrorists and one soldier.
Following the April 22 Baisaran meadow attack, in which 25 tourists and a local pony owner were killed by Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants, security agencies adopted a comprehensive anti-terror strategy targeting not only terrorists but also their overground workers (OGWs), drug smugglers, and hawala networks believed to be financing terrorism in the Union Territory.
