Security forces in the Jammu region are maintaining a strong vigil and conducting operations to track down 40 to 50 terrorists active in the area. Multi-tier security measures, including anti-drone strategies and intensified night operations, are in place.
Terror outfits in Jammu and Kashmir are now constructing elaborately-designed underground bunkers deep inside thick forests and elevated ridges instead of taking shelter in local houses, officials said. This tactical shift, fuelled by eroding local support, presents a new challenge to the Army and other security forces.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Over 30 suspects have been questioned during the past few days and several of them have been released.
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.
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.
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.
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 women of this village in Nashik still climb into a well to fetch water for their families.
Pakistan troops have violated the ceasefire agreement for the 11th consecutive night, firing on Indian posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. The firing began in Kupwara and Baramulla districts and spread to other sectors, including Poonch, Rajouri, Mendhar, Naushera, Sunderbani, and Akhnoor. The Indian Army responded promptly and proportionately. The ceasefire violation comes despite a recent phone call between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan on April 29. This marks the latest escalation of tensions between the two countries, following a terror attack in Pahalgam in April.
The chopper turned back after it was "engaged by air sentries".
Additional security men have been sent to lay a siege of the area in a bid to prevent terrorist from escaping, police officials said.
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.
The exchange of fire, which occurred in the Mendhar sector of the district on Friday night, lasted several hours.
"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.
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.
In the blast, 11 people were injured, one of them critically, he said. While 7 of the injured are locals, 4 others are outsiders.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There is no casualty on Indian side.
The Indian Army responded in a measured and effective manner to the provocation.
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.
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.
A soldier was killed in indiscriminate firing by Pakistani troops in Krishna Ghati sector in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Sunday night. The unprovoked firing appears to have escalated tension along the border ahead of United States President Barack Obama's visit to India. According to official sources, Pakistani troops targeted the Indian posts of Kirpan, Kranti and Kirpan-II from their forward posts of Chuha and Daaku.
The terrorists holed up in the 'natural caves' have resorted to intermittent firing ever since the army operation began on December 31, which has resulted in the death of two army troopers and a special police officer. The army says that it has so far eliminated four terrorists, but their bodies have not been recovered yet.
