Three Army Personnel Killed, Three Injured in Encounter with Terrorists in Rajouri
NEW DELHI, Dec 21: Three Army personnel were killed and three others were injured as militants ambushed two army vehicles passing through Dera Ki Gali, also known as DKG region, in the Pir Panjal valley in Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday evening.
Two Army vehicles carrying troops were moving to an operational site when the terrorist fired on it at about 3:45 p.m. “The fire was immediately retaliated upon by our own troops. In the ongoing operation, troops sustained three fatal and three non-fatal casualties,” an Army spokesman said.
The incident took place during an ongoing anti-militancy operation in Dera ki Gali, Thanamandi, Rajouri. ”The operation was on since Wednesday night,” the Army said. The operation is in progress in the area. Security agencies have not divulged details about the number of militants hiding in the area.
The army had been conducting an operation in and around DKG area since Wednesday night. “Based on hard intelligence, a joint operation was launched in the general area of DKG last night. Contact has been established this evening, and an encounter is in progress,” the defence spokesperson said.
Last month, five soldiers including two Captains were killed in action after the army and its special forces launched an anti-terror operation in Rajouri’s Kalakote. The region has become a hotbed of terrorists and a site of major attacks on the army over the past few years.
In April and May this year, 10 soldiers were killed in action in twin attacks in the Rajouri-Poonch region. This region had been largely free of terrorism between 2003 and 2021, after which frequent encounters started happening. Over 35 soldiers have been killed in action during anti-terror operations in the area in the past two years.
(Manas Dasgupta)
