A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Indian Army was martyred in a gunfight with militants along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu late Friday night. According to officials, the encounter erupted when alert army troops detected the movement of a group of heavily armed militants near a stream in a dense forest area of Keri Bhattal.
The troops engaged the militants in a fierce exchange of fire that lasted for several hours. The JCO was initially injured during the firefight and later succumbed to his injuries. However, the infiltration attempt was successfully thwarted by the Indian Army.
Following the incident, the area was cordoned off and additional reinforcements were rushed in. A large-scale search operation is currently underway to ensure no militant is hiding in the vicinity.
This is the second major militant-related incident in the region within a span of two months. On February 11, two Army personnel, including a captain, were killed and another injured in an IED blast triggered by militants in the same area.
The latest encounter comes just days after India and Pakistan held a brigade commander-level flag meeting in Poonch district to address border management issues. The meeting, the second of its kind since February, was aimed at reducing tensions following multiple incidents of cross-border firing and an IED attack.
The Indian Army has since lodged a strong protest with Pakistani counterparts regarding continued cross-border terror activity and violations of the ceasefire agreement.
It’s worth noting that ceasefire violations had significantly reduced after India and Pakistan reaffirmed the ceasefire pact on February 25, 2021. However, recent developments suggest a worrying uptick in hostilities along the LoC.
