A joint operation was launched by the Army and police in the Sindhara top area of the Surankote belt on Monday night which led to a firefight, they said.
Emotional scenes were witnessed across the country as the last rites of those killed in shelling by Pakistan during the recent military conflict with India were performed on Sunday.
Heavy Pakistani shelling in the border district of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir left nine people dead and 28 injured. The shelling, described by residents and officials as "barbaric and cowardly", started around 2 am, damaging dozens of residential houses, shops, vehicles, and heritage sites. The incident comes after India launched "Operation Sindoor" in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. India condemned the act, calling it a cowardly attack on civilians, and reaffirmed that civilian safety remains its top priority.
While the Indian Army made no mention of any casualty on the Pakistan side, official sources said five enemy soldiers were injured in the explosion and the subsequent firing between the two sides.
The armies of India and Pakistan on Thursday held a brigade commander-level flag meeting along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district to discuss issues related to border management.
Security and defence experts have called for immediate strengthening of the security management and intelligence network along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region, which witnessed the killing of 59 people, including 24 security personnel and 28 terrorists, in terror incidents this year.
The worst-hit in the Pakistani shelling was Poonch district which accounted for all the civilian deaths, the officials said, adding 28 persons were also injured and the condition of some of them was stated to be critical.
The movement of the drones from across the border was picked up over Balakote, Langote and Gursai nallah in Mendhar sector at 9.15 pm on Sunday, the officials said.
Five IAF personnel were injured in the attack on Saturday evening near Shahsitar and one of them later succumbed to injuries at a military hospital.
The attack took place near Shashidhar in the evening when the vehicles were moving towards Sanai Top in the district's Surankote area.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, offering condolences to families affected by cross-border shelling and encouraging students who lost two classmates to the violence. During an hour-long visit, Gandhi met with students at the convent school that lost the twins, and visited families whose homes were damaged in the shelling.
India and Pakistan on Friday held a flag meeting along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district in an effort to ease tension after several recent incidents of cross-border firing and an IED attack, official sources said.
A search operation to track down the fleeing terrorists continues near the scene of the ambush, while mobile internet services remained suspended in the twin districts for the second day on Sunday, they said.
The tragedy struck the family on May 7 when they found themselves in the middle of intense Pakistani shelling at their rented accommodation in Poonch which was badly hit by the cross-border shelling.
Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C on Tuesday said that Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi terming the Poonch terror attack, in which an Indian Air Force soldier was killed, a 'poll stunt' violated the model code of conduct.
Army troops opened fire after noticing suspicious movement in a forward area near the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district, while security forces conducted searches at more than a dozen places in Poonch, Samba, and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said.
According to sources, a group of armed terrorists tried to enter into Battal forward area of the Krishnagati belt but alert troops picked up their movement and immediately took action.
The three civilians were allegedly picked up by the Army for questioning in the wake of the killing of four Army jawans in an ambush by unidentified terrorists in Poonch on December 21.
A police officer and his eight siblings, including five sisters, were deported to Pakistan on Wednesday despite a court order granting them temporary relief. The nine members of the extended family, who have been living in Jammu and Kashmir for generations, were among more than two dozen people, mostly from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), who were served deportation notices following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The deportation has sparked outrage, with protests and appeals for intervention from the home minister and lieutenant governor. The family members claim they are not Pakistani nationals and have been living in the region for generations, presenting revenue records to support their claims. The court has ordered a detailed report on the case within two weeks and will hear it again on May 20.
The development comes in view of twin terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district in which six people of a minority community including two children were killed and 11 others were injured.
An Army personnel died of a bullet injury from his own service rifle near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, a police official said on Wednesday.
Heavy snowfall in the Kashmir Valley and Jammu region disrupted traffic and air services, leading to the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar highway and cancellation of flights. Rescue and road clearing operations are underway.
Security personnel conduct search operations to flush out terrorists in the Surankote area of Jammu's Poonch district.
Pakistani troops continued unprovoked small arms firing in different sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir for the 10th consecutive night, prompting effective retaliation by the Indian army. The ceasefire violations, which started after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, were reported from eight places across five districts in the Union Territory during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. Indian Army responded promptly and proportionately to the unprovoked firing, a defence spokesperson said.
The infiltrator was challenged by the troops guarding the Balakote sector in Mendhar sub division when he was trying to sneak into this side from across the border, the officials said.
Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday asked border villages residents, who were evacuated to safer places in view of cross border shelling by Pakistan, not to rush back to homes as they are yet to sanitise and clear these areas of any unexplored shells.
The sources said two group of seven to eight terrorists, are believed to have engineered the attack.
Pakistani troops continued to violate the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) by resorting to unprovoked firing in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Kupwara districts, army officials said. This was the fourth consecutive night that Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing along the LoC and came amid heightened tension between New Delhi and Islamabad following last week's terror attack in Pahalgam. Indian troops responded swiftly and effectively.
Several counter-terrorist operations and encounters have taken place in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch this year.
Army's counter-terrorism operation in the Nar Khas forest area of Poonch continued on Friday morning.
The Pakistani troops were seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. The Pakistani army used heavy weaponry, firing 120-mm mortar targeting civilian hamlets.
In a post on X, the additional directorate general of public information posted: "Pakistan again violates the Ceasefire Agreement by firing artillery in Bhimber Gali in the Poonch-Rajouri area. Indian Army is responding appropriately in a calibrated manner."
The BJP knows how to play with people's lives and bodies, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said.
Pakistan's troops have engaged in unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in five districts of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting retaliation from the Indian Army. This marks the eighth consecutive night of such incidents, following heightened tensions stemming from a recent terror attack in Pahalgam. Civilians residing along the LoC and IB are preparing their bunkers in anticipation of potential escalation.
A brief exchange of fire took place along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday. Indian Army soldiers retaliated to fire from a forested area across the LoC, and the exchange lasted for a short period. No damage was reported on the Indian side. The incident comes after several cross-border incidents last week, including an IED explosion that killed two army personnel. The ceasefire violation along the borders in J&K has become infrequent since India and Pakistan renewed the ceasefire agreement on February 25, 2021.
The Pakistan Army continued shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in four sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting a befitting response by the Indian Army, officials said on Thursday. The intensity of cross-border firing was less than Wednesday, when Pakistan Army carried out one of the most intense artillery and mortar shelling in years targeting the forward villages in J-K following missile strikes by India as part of 'Operation Sindoor'.
Another soldier was seriously injured in the incident and was evacuated immediately to the Army Hospital at Rajouri, they said.
The officials added that six houses were damaged in the intense shelling by Pakistani troopers.
To counter the threat and thwart the attempts of Pakistan-based handlers to spread terror in the peaceful areas of the region, officials said the Army, in close synergy with the police and the central armed police forces, has launched relentless operations in the vulnerable regions, especially in the dense forests.
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting a strong response from the Indian Army. The incident, which occurred in the Krishna Ghati sector, comes a day after two Indian Army personnel were killed in an IED blast near the LoC. The ceasefire violation is the fourth cross-border incident in five days and the first this year.
