An officer from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was killed in action after terrorists fired on a patrol party in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur.
A counter-terror operation has been launched in the area. A joint party of the CRPF and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police came under fire from the terrorists in the Dadu area of Udhampur.
Today’s attack took place in the Jammu region, which for several years, remained relatively silent compared to Kashmir. There has been a spurt of terror activities in Jammu, particularly in the southern reaches of the Pir Panjal range, which contains thick forests and steep mountains that provide cover for terrorists.
Rise In Terror Attacks In Jammu
On August 14, an army officer, Captain Deepak Singh, was killed in action after an encounter broke out in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda. A civilian was also injured in the incident. The officer suffered gunshot wounds in a forested area during a cordon-and-search operation in the Shivgarh-Assar belt of Delhi.
Last that day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high-level meeting over rising terror attacks in the Union Territory after back-to-back encounters and ambushes took place. The meeting was held at the South Block in Delhi, with NSA Ajit Doval and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi.
Recent intelligence reports suggested that the terrorists may target highways, the lifeline in Jammu and Kashmir. The Centre decided to deploy more troops from CRPF along with local police to patrol highways and adjacent areas.
On August 10, two soldiers and a civilian were killed during a gunfight between terrorists and security forces in Anantnag. The region has witnessed attacks on an army convoy in Kathua, skirmishes in Doda and Udhampur, and a failed attack by the Pakistan Border Action Team (BAT) along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district’s Machchal sector.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), 28 people, including civilians and security personnel, were killed in 11 terror-related incidents and 24 counter-terror operations up to July 21 this year.
