Security forces, terrorists trade bullets in Kishtwar forests

JAMMU: Security forces exchanged fire with terrorists in the forests of Keshwan in Jammu and Kashmir ’s Kishtwar district on Sunday. Officials said the operation was still underway, with additional troops rushed to the area to fortify the cordon and plug possible escape routes.

The firefight broke out around 1pm when Army personnel were carrying out an intelligence-based operation in the area, Army’s White Knight Corps stated in an X post.

The gun battle came two days after a soldier, Lance Dafadar Baldev Chand, was critically wounded in a similar anti-terror operation in Seoj Dhar forest of Dudu-Basantgarh, Udhampur district (close to Doda district) late Friday. The Armyman succumbed during treatment on Saturday, pushing this year’s security death toll in counter-terrorism operations in the region to 20 — 14 in Jammu and six in Kashmir.