Soldier killed as army foils infiltration bid in Jammu’s Poonch

JAMMU — A soldier was killed in the line of duty as the army thwarted an infiltration bid by militants along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu’s Poonch district early Tuesday, the latest in a string of militant attacks in the region.

Lance Naik Subash Kumar was injured in the intense gunfight and later succumbed, said officials, adding militants too suffered “loss”.

“All Ranks of White Knight Corps salute the supreme sacrifice of Braveheart L/Nk Subhash Chander who laid down his life in the line of duty. White Knight Corps offers deepest condolences and stands firm with the bereaved family in this hour of grief,” army in a post on X confirmed, as per the news agency KNO.

Officials said that a post-mortem has been conducted and the soldier’s body handed over to the army. A search operation has been launched in the area, the officials said.

Earlier, the army in a post on X said, “Alert troops foiled an infiltration bid by effectively engaging infiltrating terrorists … in the Battal sector of Krishna Ghati at 0300 hours. During the exchange of heavy fire, one braveheart was injured, who later succumbed.”

There has been a spurt in militant activities in Jammu in recent months, raising fears about the revival of militancy in the region.

Yesterday, alert soldiers thwarted a major militant attack on a home of gallantry soldier’s in Budhal -Khawas area of Rajouri, an official said. “As per details, militants opened fire at one of temporary army posts, which was operational near the house of a VDG member Parshotam Kumar, a Village Defence Guard (VDG) member in Gundha – a remote village of Rajouri district at around 0310 hours and the fire was promptly retaliated by security personnel,” official said.

He added, “The attack was given appropriate retaliation by alert security personnel.” Sources said that an army trooper was injured in a brief exchange of fire between militants and hospitalized, but there has been no official confirmation on the same.

This attack follows two high-level meetings chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi in Jammu on Saturday, where they reviewed the security situation in response to the recent surge in militant attacks in the region.

According to sources, security forces initiated a cordon and search operation in a village in the Budhal area of Rajouri district after suspected militants opened fire at a security picket early in the morning.

This incident follows another attempted militant attack on a Territorial Army (TA) battalion post in Galuti Patrara village of Manjakote, Rajouri district, on July 7. An Army sentry deployed at the post sustained injuries during the initial exchange of gunfire, which lasted for half an hour on Sunday morning.