Army captain killed in action amid fierce gunbattle in J&K's Doda district; one terrorist eliminated

A day after the visit of General Officer in Commanding-in Chief (GoC-in-C) Northern Command Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar in the Chenab Valley region of Jammu and Kashmir, an encounter took place in the higher reaches of Doda district in which an Army captain lost his life in the line of duty.

Unconfirmed reports said that four terrorists were believed to have been gunned down in an ongoing operation but authorities have confirmed the killing of only one terrorist.

A civilian was also injured in the encounter that broke out a day ahead of Independence Day in the Assar area of Doda district.

Reports said that a search operation was launched by the joint team of the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and Security Forces in the Shivgarh-Assar belt of Doda after getting information about the presence of terrorists.

A young Army captain, who was leading the search party was injured when contact established with the terrorists hiding in this belt. He was shifted to a military hospital where he breathed his last. The Captain has been identified as Deepak Singh,

Reports said that four blood-soaked rucksacks were recovered from the site, leading officials to believe that four terrorists were killed. M-4 carbines were also found.

The terrorists crossed into Doda from a forest near Patnitop in adjacent Udhampur district after a brief exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists there on Tuesday evening.

According to officials, security forces established contact with the terrorists near Udhampur on Tuesday evening. On July 15, four soldiers including a Captain of the Army lost their lives in the line of duty while fighting with terrorists in the Doda district.

GoC-in-C visited Chenab Valley on Tuesday

General Officer in Commanding-in Chief (GoC-in-C) Northern Command Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar on Tuesday reviewed the ongoing anti-terrorist operations in the Chenab Valley region.

GoC-in-C visited the locations of the counter-insurgency Delta Force in Doda and Kishtwar and exhorted all ranks to maintain a high tempo of operations, ensuring security and safety for ongoing and upcoming events, the Army's Northern Command posted on X.

On its official social media handle, the Northern Command of the Army shared four pictures of the Lieutenant General's interaction with the troops on the ground.

"Lt Gen M V SuchindraKumar, Army Cdr NC visited forward locations of Counter Insurgency Force (Delta) in the Doda and Kishtwar area to review the ongoing anti-terrorist operations being conducted in light of increased terrorist activity in the region", the Army posted on its social media post.

He assessed the options for the deployment of additional forces being inducted into the area. He emphasized synergy with the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the para-military forces to eradicate terrorism from this region.

The GoC-in-C exhorted all ranks to maintain a high operations tempo, ensuring security and safety for ongoing and upcoming events.

Chenab region witnessed half a dozen encounters recently

For the last couple of months, some areas of the Doda district have witnessed terror incidents. Four soldiers including a Captain of the Army lost their lives in the line of duty while fighting with terrorists in the Doda district on July 15.

Higher reaches of the Doda district of Jammu region have witnessed over half a dozen encounters at different places since June 12.

A brief gunfight between terrorists and security forces took place during search operations in Nownatta and Naagseni Peyaas in Kishtwar district on August 11.

Security forces are engaged in a massive search operation in the upper reaches of both districts to track down and neutralize the terrorists who are believed to have infiltrated from across the border and managed to reach the dense forests in their effort to revive terrorism in the peaceful Jammu region.