Over 30 suspects have been questioned during the past few days and several of them have been released.
Two Indian Army personnel, including a captain, were killed and another was injured when suspected terrorists set off an improvised explosive device (IED) near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu on Tuesday. This was the third incident of cross-border action by terrorists in the Jammu region in four days, highlighting the ongoing security challenges in the area. The blast occurred while the troops were on patrolling duty near a forward post, underscoring the risks faced by security personnel in the region. Following the incident, the Army launched search operations in the area and expressed condolences for the loss of its personnel.
One person has been killed and seven injured after Pakistani troops pounded forward posts and civilian areas along the Line of Control in Saujian sector of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir with heavy shelling and firing, forcing the Army to retaliate.
However, Defence PRO Col Manish Mehta said there was no ceasefire violation.
Army Commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi visited the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and took stock of the ongoing operation, the officials said, adding he asked the troops to be relentless in their pursuit.
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice on Sunday by firing mortar shells, rockets and automatic weapons on forward Indian posts along the LoC in Poonch district, drawing retaliation from the Indian side.
Incessant rains and flooding have caused widespread disruption in northern India, with states like Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir facing landslides, road closures, and displacement. Rescue efforts are underway as authorities grapple with the aftermath of the deluge.
The women of this village in Nashik still climb into a well to fetch water for their families.
An alleged Pakistani intruder was killed on Monday when an improvised explosive device he was carrying exploded during an encounter with security forces along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
There was no traditional exchange of sweets and pleasantries between the two sides along the International Border, the officials said, attributing it to the tense situation following the recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan Rangers that left a Border Security Force jawan dead.
While two bodies were recovered on Wednesday, the death toll climbed to four on Thursday after the recovery of two more bodies from the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site in Kangra district.
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire on Sunday along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir but there was no casualty.
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire yet again in the Chakan-de-Bagh sector of the Line of Control in Poonch district Monday.
The group of terrorists was attempting to infiltrate into the Indian territory from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, a Defence Spokesman said in Srinagar.
The Indian Army responded in a measured and effective manner to the provocation.
Militants engaged in an encounter with security forces in Poonch district escaped from the cordon on Thursday morning, the police said
In a joint operation, Rashtriya Rifles troops and police shot dead the self-styled commander Abu Umar and another unidentified ultra, police said. Umar, a close associate of self-styled LeT divisional commander Dawood, was injured in another encounter a week ago.
An army major and two jawans were injured in a gun-battle with militants in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir as the operation against ultras in the region entered the fourth day on Friday.
The defence spokesperson said the Pakistan Army also shelled posts with heavy mortars and opened fire with small arms and automatic weapons in the Poonch sector.
The chopper turned back after it was "engaged by air sentries".
A cloudburst in a remote village in Kathua district, Jammu and Kashmir, resulted in four fatalities and six injuries. Rescue operations are underway, and the district administration is monitoring the situation.
Additional security men have been sent to lay a siege of the area in a bid to prevent terrorist from escaping, police officials said.
Advising security agencies for appropriate deployment in vulnerable areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Shah stressed that all due procedures should be adopted while conducting counter-terror operations.
The exchange of fire, which occurred in the Mendhar sector of the district on Friday night, lasted several hours.
An army captain and a junior commissioned officer (JCO) were killed in an accidental grenade blast along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said on Monday.
"The operation has been called off. The possibility of terrorists having escaped cannot be ruled out," said Defence Spokesman S N Acharya, capping the futile search for the terrorists whom the security forces had engaged in a battle. The encounter, which has been going on since January 1, has claimed the lives of four terrorists and three security personnel, including a Junior Commissioned Officer.
Pakistani troops on violated the ceasefire again and resorted to firing along LoC in Poonch district in which one woman suffered injuries.
In the blast, 11 people were injured, one of them critically, he said. While 7 of the injured are locals, 4 others are outsiders.
Militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Umar Khatab was killed and an army jawan wounded in a fierce gun-battle in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Sunday. Khatab was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Bhatti-Dar area at Mendhar early on Sunday morning, said Brigadier General Staff (16 Coprs) S Dua. Acting on specific information that some militants were hiding in Bhatti-Dar area, Rashtriya Rifles troops and the police launched a search-and-cordon operation.
The ceasefire violation coincides with Home Minister Rajnath Singh's four-day visit to the state.
Two women were killed and two other persons were injured in indiscriminate firing by a trooper of the Territorial Army in the border town of Poonch in Jammu region in the morning on Wednesday.
People along the Line of Control and International Border in the Jammu region continue to live under the shadow of death, with unexploded mortar shells fired by Pakistani troops still embedded in farmlands and residential areas even though hostilities have stopped for nearly a week. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: / Rediff.com Despite the May 10 understanding between India and Pakistan, locals describe the border areas as a 'death trap'. Sixty-two-year-old Balvinder Singh, who returned to his home in Pargwal sector on May 14, recounted a narrow escape. "Two shells exploded in our compound, damaging our house. Three more landed on our farmland. We were terrified and told our family to stay away from the fields until the Army could help," Singh told PTI. Army engineers later came to the village and safely defused the unexploded shells, bringing a temporary sense of relief. "Fear is writ large on the faces of people to these death traps in border hamlets", he said. Scenes of destruction are evident rooftops torn apart, broken houses, windows punctured by shrapnel, and carcasses of cattle lying in pools of blood. The acrid smell of gunpowder still lingers in the air. Sardar Gurmeet Singh faced a similar ordeal. His family could not re-enter their home as a live mortar shell had sunk into the compound in a village close to the International Border. "The army's bomb disposal squad removed it after four days, allowing us to finally enter, back home," he said. Indian Army engineers have launched a sweeping clearance operation across border districts, defusing over 80 unexploded shells in the past five days -- including 6 in Pargwal, 19 in Rajouri, 42 in Poonch, and 12 along the IB. "These shells, mostly 120 mm calibre, have a range of 15 to 30 km and pose a serious threat to both civilian and military targets," an Army officer said. "Many of them were fired by Pakistan during recent hostilities." On May 7, the Indian Army launched Operation Sindoor, conducting precision strikes on nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. The subsequent retaliation by Pakistan pushed the region to the brink of war. From 7 to 10 of May, 27 civilians were killed and over 70 injured in Pakistani shelling in the Jammu region. Farid Din Gujjar, a resident near the border, expressed fear about returning to his fields. "Several shells created deep craters in our paddy land. We cannot resume work until all unexploded ordnance is cleared. It's a death trap," he said. Army units, in coordination with Jammu and Kashmir Police, have evacuated high-risk zones and issued stern warnings to residents not to touch any suspicious objects or unexploded shells. In one major operation, 42 live shells were safely destroyed in the Poonch villages of Jhullas, Salotri, Dharati and Salani. "All safety protocols were followed. The shells posed a serious danger to local lives," an Army spokesperson said, calling the effort a 'continued commitment to protect civilians and restore normalcy'. Poonch saw the vast majority of deaths due to shelling. Security officials said that Pakistan used a mix of mortar shells, armed drones, and missiles during the shelling spree, specifically targeting civilian habitations and border towns in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Poonch. As clearance operations continue, the border residents are slowly returning to their homes, but with caution, fear, and lingering uncertainty about shelling that may yet happen in the future.
Violating the ceasefire yet again, Pakistan troops targeted five Indian posts with rockets and heavy machine gun fire along the LoC in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Suspected drones were observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, while armed forces downed a 'surveillance drone' in Punjab's Jalandhar district.
Written in Urdu, the posters sought the help of the people in tracing the terrorists, saying "those who killed the innocents do not have a place in our country".
There is no casualty on Indian side.
A search is underway to track down another terrorist, who was his accomplice, in the area, they said.
So far, there are no reports of casualties or injuries and a gunbattle is underway.
According to officials, 46 deaths have been recorded in terrorism-related violence since January this year in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and nearby Reasi district.
One militant was killed in an encounter while three others remained holed up in the border area of Mendhar in Poonch district in Jammu & Kashmir, after their infiltration bid was foiled by security forces on Wednesday. A joint team of the Army and state police launched combing operations in Chajla area of Mendhar, soon after receiving inputs that a group of four militants had sneaked into the Indian side from across the Line of Control.
