Army JCO killed in encounter along LoC in Jammu

They said alert army troops picked up the movement of a group of heavily armed terrorists near a stream in a forward forest setting in the Keri Bhattal area late Friday night, and challenged them, leading to a fierce gun fight

Jammu: A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Army was killed in an encounter with terrorists along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Akhnoor sector here, but their infiltration bid was thwarted, officials said on Saturday.

They said alert army troops picked up the movement of a group of heavily armed terrorists near a stream in a forward forest setting in the Keri Bhattal area late Friday night, and challenged them, leading to a fierce gun fight which continued for quite some time.

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A JCO was injured in the encounter and later succumbed to injuries, the officials said, adding the whole area has been cordoned off with deployment of reinforcements and a search operation was underway when last reports were received.

In the same area on February 11, two Army personnel, including a captain, were killed and another was injured when terrorists set off an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

The latest incident comes two days after the India and Pakistan held a brigade commander-level flag meeting in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district to discuss issues related to border management. This was the second such meeting since February in an effort to de-escalate tension after nearly a dozen incidents of cross-border firing, and an IED attack.

The Indian army lodged a strong protest with their counterparts over the cross-border terror activities and the ceasefire violations. The ceasefire violations along the LoC have been very rare since India and Pakistan renewed the ceasefire agreement on February 25, 2021.

On April 5, Border Security Force (BSF) personnel shot dead a Pakistani intruder along the International Border in the R S Pura sector here and later held a flag meeting with Rangers over the incident.