Kishtwar Encounter: Two of the four soldiers who sustained injuries during an encounter between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district earlier in the day have succumbed, officials informed late Friday.

The encounter broke out during a joint search operation launched by the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the White Knight Corps of the Indian Army said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). 

"Based on the intelligence inputs, a joint operation with J&K Police was launched in area Chatroo at #Kishtwar. A contact was established and scout leading the patrol exchanged heavy volume of fire with the terrorists at 1530 hrs," the post said.

POONCH ENCOUNTER

Hours before the beginning of the encounter in Kishtwar, a brief gunfight took place between terrorists and security forces in J-K's Poonch district. Following the brief exchange of fire, a makeshift hideout was recovered, according to officials. As per a report by news agency PTI, the recovered items included at least one AK rifle.

J-K NEWS: OP KHANDARA CONCLUDES

On Friday, the Indian Army announced the conclusion of the joint anti-terrorist operation that was launched in the Khandara Top area, which falls along the border of Kathua and Udhampur districts of Jammu and Kashmir (J-K), on Wednesday (September 11). Two terrorists were killed during the operation, the Rising Star Corps of the Army confirmed.

The operation, jointly carried out by the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, led to the recovery of "large war like stores", the Army said. A photo of the recovered items shared by the Army showed two assault rifles, 10 AK-47 magazines, half-a-dozen grenades, and dozens of 7.62 mm rounds, among other things, laid out on the ground.

Around the same time when the anti-terror operation began in Khandara Top, the Army had announced the recovery of a "very large cache" of arms and ammunition during a joint search operation in J-K's Kupwara district. AK 47 rounds, hand grenades, RPG rounds and material for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were among the items seized in Kupwara, as per the Indian Army.

The aforementioned recoveries came just days ahead of the beginning of voting for the much-anticipated polls. The polling in J-K is scheduled to be held in three phases: September 18, 25 and October 1. The counting will be held on October 8.

This will be the first Assembly election in present-day Jammu and Kashmir, a union territory (UT) that came into existence after the bifurcation of the state of the same name in 2019. The undivided Jammu and Kashmir witnessed its last Assembly polls in 2014.

(With inputs from agencies)