Grenade attacks lead to heavy exchange of firing, cordon on
*Troops launch Operation Trashi-I, reinforcement rushed
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 18: Yet another gunfight broke out between security forces and terrorists at village Sonnar in Chatroo area of Kishtwar district this afternoon resulting into injuries to eight soldiers while reinforcement of Army, paramilitary personnel and police have reached the spot to cordon off the area.
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Reports said a team of Army personnel had gone to upper reaches in Sonnar area of Chatroo for search operation after developing specific input about presence of terrorists. During search of a house, the terrorists sitting atop mountains lobbed two grenades towards the security personnel and subsequently opened firing.
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Troops immediately retaliated leading to gun battle which continued for some time.
Additional security personnel from Army, paramilitary forces, police and SOG immediately rushed to the spot and search operations were further intensified. The operations continued till tonight but were halted and will resume early tomorrow morning.
Eight Army soldiers were injured in the initial round of twin grenade attacks and firing. Of them, three were airlifted to the Military Hospital, Udhampur.
Sources told the Excelsior that the Army had specific input about presence of three foreign terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Sonnar area of Chatroo in Kishtwar district and the operation was launched based on the information.
There have been reports about presence of the foreign terrorists in upper reaches of Kishtwar and Doda districts besides Udhampur and Kathua. A number of contacts have been established by the security forces with the terrorists.
The operation, which the Army’s Nagrota-based White Knight Corps named ‘Operation Trashi-I’, began around noon, the sources said, adding it is still on and the cordon is being strengthened during night to ensure that the terrorists don’t manage to escape taking cover of darkness and hilly forested areas around Sonnar.
In a post on X, the White Knight Corps said the security forces came in contact with the terrorists in the general area Sonnar, northeast of Chatroo, during a deliberate search operation conducted as part of ongoing joint counter-terror exercises along with Jammu and Kashmir Police.
“Operations remain underway with additional forces inducted to reinforce the cordon, supported by close coordination with civil administration and security agencies,” the Army said, commending the troops for their exceptional professionalism and resolve while responding to hostile fire under challenging terrain and conditions.
Advanced surveillance equipment, including drones, and sniffer dogs have been deployed to speed up the operation.
This is the third encounter between the security forces and terrorists in the Jammu region this year. Encounters broke out in Kahog and Najote forests in the Billawar area of Kathua district on January 7 and 13, respectively.
On December 15 last year, a police jawan was martyred in an encounter with terrorists at Soan village in the Majalta area of Udhampur district. The terrorists managed to escape, taking advantage of thick foliage and darkness.
The encounters followed a major counter-terrorist operation launched in the forest belts of the Jammu region in December last year to flush out the holed-up terrorists.
Operations have been further intensified in the run-up to the Republic Day to ensure peaceful celebrations, amid intelligence inputs about desperate attempts by Pakistan-based handlers to push more terrorists, the officials said.
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