Rajouri Gunfight: Toll five as three army personnel succumb to injuries

RAJOURI — Three army personnel injured after a group of militants triggered an explosive device in an ongoing encounter have succumbed to injuries, taking the toll of deaths to five, officials said.

They told the news agency GNS that the three soldiers, who were critically injured in the morning, have unfortunately succumbed to their injuries at Command Hospital Udhampur. “With the fresh casualties, the toll has reached five,” they said.

“Several senior officers of the army and police are at the site to monitor the ongoing operation,” they further said.

“Indian Army columns have been conducting relentless intelligence-based operations to flush out a group of terrorists involved in an ambush on an army truck in Tota Gali area of Bhata Dhurian in Jammu region,” a Defence official spokesperson earlier said in a statement.

“On specific information about the presence of terrorists in the Kandi forest in Rajouri sector, a joint operation was launched on May 3, 2023. At about 0730 hours on May 5, 2023, a search team established contact with a group of terrorists well entrenched in a cave. The area is thickly vegetated with rocky and steep cliffs,” it said.

The statement added, “The terrorists triggered an explosive device in retaliation. Additional teams from the vicinity have been directed to the site of the encounter. The injured personnel have been evacuated to Command Hospital Udhampur.”

“The operation is in progress,” reads the statement, adding further details are being ascertained.