(Image source from: PTI)

On Monday afternoon, a military vehicle was attacked by terrorists in Katwai district of Jammu and Kashmir, which borders Pathankot in Punjab. Two soldiers were injured and taken to hospital for treatment. The first attack is repelled and the battle is on. The relief forces swung into action and a search operation was launched to track down the terrorists. This is the second attack on Indian forces in the Jammu region in the last 48 hours. An army camp was attacked in Rajouri district on Sunday. One soldier was injured. Today's attack came 24 hours after six terrorists were killed in two separate encounters in Kulgam Jandak district. Two soldiers, including a paratrooper, were killed and another soldier was injured in the clashes that began on Saturday, police told NDTV. The first encounter took place in Modalgam village where security forces comprising CRPF, Army and local police launched a search operation based on information about the presence of terrorists. In the first conflict, a paratrooper was seriously injured. This operation resulted in a large-scale attack on the target house where the terrorists took refuge. Late on Saturday evening, security forces destroyed the house and recovered the bodies of the two terrorists.

At the same time, another violent clash took place in Frisal area of Kulgam. Drone footage revealed the bodies of four terrorists after a prolonged shootout. In this battle, one soldier was killed and another soldier was wounded. The four people who were shot dead in Furisal were identified as Yavor Bashir Dar, Zahid Ahmad Dar, Tawheed Ahmad Rather and Shakeel Wani. These two persons have been identified as Faisal and Adel from Madagam. Naik Pradeep Nain of Para Commando and Lancers was killed in battle in Maudgam while Havaldar Raj Kumar of 1 Rashtriya Rifles was killed in battle in Furisal district. In another incident in Rajouri district, there were reports of gunfire near an army camp. One soldier was injured and initial reports suggest an attempted terrorist attack on the Mangiacote military camp overnight, but the military has yet to confirm the details. Security sources said on Sunday that activists from the Pakistan-based Resistance Front, an arm of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, were behind the surge in terrorist activities in Jandak. The NIA, identified as Saifullah Sajid Jat from Shangamanga village in Pakistan's Punjab province, said he was a "tough terrorist" and had put a bounty of Rs 1 million on his head.

There have been a number of terrorist attacks in JandK in recent months. Last month, terrorists shot at a bus carrying pilgrims. 9 people died when the bus fell into the valley of Raisi district. A few days later, two armed terrorists entered the village and opened fire. Security forces advanced and in the ensuing gunfight a CRPF personnel was killed. The terrorists were shot. According to police, three terrorists were killed in a fierce clash between terrorists and security forces in Gando area of Doda Jandak district last month. These terrorists are believed to be involved in recent attacks on military and police forces in the Kashmir Valley. Large quantities of weapons and ammunition were discovered, including a US-made M4 carbine. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Parliament that the fight against terrorism in JandK was in its final stages and a multi-pronged strategy to destroy the remaining networks had been adopted. “The fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is, so to speak, the final phase. We are pursuing a multi-pronged strategy to destroy the remaining terror networks there,” Prime Minister Modi said.