Srinagar: An unidentified militant, who was involved in an attack on an army ambulance in Jammu on Monday morning (October 28), has been gunned down by security forces in Akhnoor district along the Line of Control (LoC), officials said.
Earlier reports had stated that three militants had been killed in the encounter. However, the Army has denied this.
In a post on X, an Army spokesperson said: “Body of one terrorist along with weapon has been recovered. Operations are under progress.”
A J&K Police spokesperson said, “We deny the reports regarding the encounter in Akhnoor involving the neutralization of three terrorists. It is confirmed that no injuries were reported from the attack on the Army vehicle, and further details are being investigated”.
The police spokesperson added that the situation was under control. “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.” he said.
At around 7 am on Monday, a group of militants, who are believed to have recently infiltrated from Pakistan along the Khour sector in Jammu district, tried to ambush an army ambulance in the Akhnoor area.
One report said that two vehicles were targeted by the unknown attackers who later managed to flee from the spot. No loss of life or injuries were reported after the attack.
The officer said that additional reinforcements were sent to the area and the militants were chased down by security forces in Akhnoor, resulting in an encounter in which one militant has been reportedly gunned down.
The identity of the slain militant has not been confirmed by the police so far.
The border districts of Samba, Kathua, Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu division have been put on a high alert following an uptick in militant attacks since last month.
Successive attacks
The shootout in Khour was the fifth targeted attack by militants in Jammu and Kashmir after Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the first chief minister of the Union territory.
On October 24, two army soldiers and two civilian porters were gunned down in an attack in the north Kashmir ski resort of Gulmarg. Three more soldiers were wounded in the attack but their condition is reported to be stable.
Following the Gulmarg attack, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had chaired the Unified Headquarters (UHQ) meeting in Srinagar to formulate a strategy to tackle the growing incidents of militant attacks on security forces and civilians in Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by top officials of security agencies including Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, Northern Army Commander MV Suchindera Kumar, GoC of Srinagar based 15 Corps Lt General Prashant Srivastava and others.
A day earlier, on October 23, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh was shot and injured in Awantipora police district of south Kashmir. The victim, Shubham Kumar, a resident of Bijnore district, escaped with minor injuries.
A Kashmiri doctor and six workers were killed in a militant attack when two unidentified gunmen surfaced inside the base camp of Apco Infra Ltd, a Lucknow-based private infrastructure development company in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district and resorted to indiscriminate firing before fleeing.
The slain doctor and other workers were employed by Apco as part of a team which has been building the strategic Z-Morh tunnel on Srinagar-Leh highway. The tunnel, which is expected to cut down time in mobilising troops from Kashmir to Ladakh, was expected to be thrown open this month.
On October 18, 30-year-old Ashok Chauhan, a migrant worker from Bihar was abducted from Malhura area of Shopian in south Kashmir, Later, the bullet-riddled body of Chauhan was recovered near Rambiara river, prompting the police to launch a probe into his killing.
The string of attacks is likely to bring Abdullah’s government under intense spotlight, even though the law and order in Jammu and Kashmir and security are under the control of the Bhartiya Janta Party-led Union government.
The back-to-back attacks are reminiscent of a spate of targeted killings of migrant workers, the minority Kashmiri Hindus and security personnel in the autumn of 2021 which had prompted many Kashmiri Pandits and workers to flee the Valley.
