Srinagar, Aug 13 (IANS) A soldier was killed on Wednesday as the alert troops foiled an infiltration bid on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri sector.

“One soldier was killed during a fierce gunfight with terrorists. The Army has launched a counter-infiltration and border action team (BAT) operation in the area, and a search operation is underway. The troops foiled the infiltration bid in the Churunda area of Uri in the Baramulla district,” the officials said.

A counter-infiltration operation has been launched in the area to track down the terrorists. An exchange of fire is going on, and further details are awaited, the sources added.

Meanwhile, the protracted anti-terrorist operation in the Akhal Devsar forest area of Kulgam district in Kashmir entered its 13th day on Wednesday.

Notably, this operation is the longest ongoing anti-terrorist operation in the Valley.

On the first night of the gunfight on August 1, one local terrorist was killed and four soldiers were injured. Two injured soldiers later succumbed to critical injuries, while the other injured are being treated in the hospital.

Officials said that since this is a vast and dense forest area, the operation may be prolonged.

Joint forces, including the Indian Army, CRPF and J&K Police, had started CASO (Cordon & Search Operations) in the area on August 1.

The Army has deployed Rudra helicopters, drones and para commandos to ensure that the hiding terrorists are unable to escape.

Security forces have been carrying out aggressive operations against the terrorists in the hinterland, while the Army has been on maximum alert guarding the LoC in J&K.

The elimination of three hardcore Pakistani terrorists responsible for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed, is part of the aggressive operations being carried out by the joint forces.

Three hardcore Pakistani terrorists, including Lashkra-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, Suleman Shah and his two associates, Abu Hamza and Jibran Bhai, responsible for the Pahalgam attack, were killed on July 28 in the higher reaches of Dachigam national park on the foot of Mahadev mountain peak in Harwan area of Srinagar.

The Army code-named this operation as ‘Operation Mahadev’.

After the Pahalgam terror attack, the security forces are carrying out anti-terrorist operations against gun-wielding terrorists, their overground workers and sympathisers.

–IANS

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