Soldier killed, three commandos injured in ongoing Kishtwar gunbattle

SRINAGAR — A fierce gunbattle has erupted in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir in which a Special Forces soldier has been killed while three other commandos have received injuries.

The encounter is going on in a remote forest area of the district in which three militants are reportedly trapped, unnamed officials quoted by the news agency ANB, said.

The Army’s White Knight Corps confirmed that Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para (Special Forces) lost his life while three other commandos sustained injuries during the gunfight, which began on Sunday, November 10.

A Defence spokesperson said that the General Officer Commanding of the White Knight Corps and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para (SF).

“Naib Subedar Kumar was part of a joint counter-insurgency operation in the Bhart Ridge area of Kishtwar. We stand in solidarity with his family during this hour of grief,” reads the statement.

The encounter erupted when a joint search team from the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police intercepted militants in the Keshwan forest, close to where the bodies of two Village Defence Guards, Nazir Ahmad and Kuldeep Kumar, were recently recovered.

This is the third such encounter in the Union Territory within a span of 24 hours. Earlier, security forces engaged in an exchange of fire with militants during an anti-militancy operation in Srinagar’s Zabarwan forest.

“A joint operation involving police and security forces was launched based on intelligence about terrorist presence, resulting in a firefight,” said Kashmir Zone Police.