Jammu: One Army officer was killed in action and one terrorist was neutralised while three other militants are believed to have been gunned down in an ongoing encounter in the higher reaches of the Shivgarh-Assar belt in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. One AK 47 has been recovered in addition to an M4 rifle.
Captain Deepak Singh from the 48 Rashtriya Rifles succumbed to injuries received during the ongoing operation in the district, Army's White Knight Corps said in a solemn post on its official X handle.
Op Assar: Update
— White Knight Corps (@Whiteknight_IA) August 14, 2024
Search for the terrorists continues amidst heavy firefight.
One officer has been injured while leading the search party. War like stores have been recovered as operations continue.@adgpi @NorthernComd_IA
"All Ranks of White Knight Corps salute the supreme sacrifice of Braveheart Capt Deepak Singh who succumbed to his injuries. White Knight Corps offers deepest condolences and stands firm with the bereaved family in this hour of grief," it said.
The slain officer was injured while leading a search party during the operation that began on Tuesday in the Assar area and is still in progress, officials said. The young captain was critically injured and shifted to a military hospital where he breathed his last, they said. Four blood-soaked rucksacks were recovered from the site, leading officials to believe that four terrorists were killed, PTI reported.
The Army also confirmed the killing of one terrorist in the operation.
“One terrorist has been neutralised in the ongoing operation. One AK 47 has been recovered in addition to the M4 rifle. Intermittent exchange of firing continues as the operations are ongoing,” the White Knight Corps said in the latest post on X.
All Ranks of #WhiteKnightCorps salute the supreme #sacrifice of #Braveheart Capt Deepak Singh who succumbed to his injuries.#WhiteKnightCorps offers deepest condolences and stands firm with the bereaved family in this hour of grief.@adgpi@NorthernComd_IA pic.twitter.com/kc6SIczb3S
— White Knight Corps (@Whiteknight_IA) August 14, 2024
A civilian was also injured in the encounter that broke out a day ahead of Independence Day and is the latest in a series of incidents in the Jammu region that has witnessed a spike in violence. Bullets rang out in a thickly forested area during a cordon and search operation (CASO) launched by a joint team to track down a group of foreign terrorists hiding in the Shivgarh-Assar belt, officials said.
The terrorists are holed up near a river in Assar, an official said. Sources said security forces have recovered one M4 rifle and bag packs from the site of the encounter that began late Tuesday in the forest area near Patnitop.
"Based on specific intelligence inputs, a joint operation by the Indian Army and JKP was launched in Akar Forest near Patnitop. Contact has been established with the terrorists and operations are in progress," White Knight Corps posted on Tuesday night.
The terrorists crossed into Doda from a forest near Patnitop in the adjacent Udhampur district after a brief exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists there, PTI reported quoting officials. "Security forces established contact with the terrorists around 6 pm in Udhampur on Tuesday. The encounter began about half an hour later and continued intermittently until both sides paused. A cordon was established overnight. The search was resumed at daylight. At about 7.30 am today, there was a renewed exchange of fire, officials said.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Ramban-Doda Range, Shridhar Patil told ETV Bharat that the operation was underway in the area.
All ranks of the White Knight Corps saluted the supreme sacrifice made by braveheart Capt Deepak Singh. The White Knight Corps offered deepest condolences to the bereaved family and stands firmly behind them in this hour of grief, it said.
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