Terrorist killed in 8-hr-long gunfight after attack on army convoy in Akhnoor
The gunfight started at about 7am when the terrorists attacked an ambulance that was part of an army convoy in the Battal area.
JAMMU: A terrorist was killed in an eight-hour-long gunfight after a group of terrorists, opened fire on an Indian Army convoy near the Line of Control (LoC) in Akhnoor sector of Jammu district on Monday morning, officials said.
“Body of one terrorist along with weapon has been recovered. Operations are under progress,” the Nagrota-headquartered White Knight Corps said in a post on X.
Officials said the gunfight took place in a densely forested area of Battal in Akhnoor’s Khour area about 85km from Jammu city.
The gunfight started at about 7am when the terrorists attacked an ambulance that was part of an army convoy in the Battal area.
”The area has been cordoned off, and a search operation to neutralise the terrorists is ongoing,” the White Knight Corps said in a post earlier in the day.
A defence official said a Russian made BMP-2 combat vehicle (an amphibious infantry combat vehicle) with night vision technology was deployed in the operation. “Since the operation is taking place close to a river, the BMP-2 vehicle was being used to enhance the capability of the troops,” he said.
Munawar Tawi in the Akhnoor sector falls on one of the routes used by Pakistani terrorists to enter the country.
It is suspected that three terrorists were involved in the gunfight with the military. The lone terrorist killed in the gunfight was wearing clothes similar to the army’s combat fatigues. Officials said the terrorist was suspected to be linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist group.
People familiar with the matter said the presence of the heavily armed terrorists was first reported to the army by villagers near Asan temple in the Battal area of Khour.
Later in the evening, the Jammu and Kashmir Police rebutted reports that the three terrorists had been killed in the ongoing operation.
“We deny the reports regarding the encounter in Akhnoor involving the neutralisation of three terrorists. It is confirmed that no injuries were reported from the attack on the Army vehicle and further details are being investigated,” said a police spokesperson.
“The situation remains under control and we urge the public to remain calm and refrain from spreading unverified information. Security forces continue to monitor the area closely following the recent alerts for border districts,” the spokesperson added.
Monday’s gunfight comes against the backdrop of a string of eight terror attacks over two weeks in Jammu and Kashmir that claimed over a dozen lives.
On October 24, a convoy carrying personnel of a Rashtriya Rifles unit and civilian porters was moving to the Nagin post in the Afrawat range when terrorists opened fire on two army trucks at Botapathri, roughly 6km from the tourist hub of Gulmarg. Two soldiers and two civilian porters were killed in the ambush.
On October 20, terrorists killed seven people, including a doctor and six migrant workers, at a construction site in Sonamarg, Ganderbal district. Another migrant worker from Bihar was attacked two days before this incident.
