Doda terror attack: 4 soldiers killed; What's fuelling terrorism in Jammu

Doda terror attack: Officials informed that the encounter operation, still underway, began when troops launched a search operation in Desa forest belt of Doda

Doda terror attack latest news: An officer was among the four army personnel, who died on Tuesday after succumbing to their injuries, caused during a gunfight with terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir’s Doda district.

An official informed that the encounter operation, still underway, began when troops launched a search operation in Desa forest belt. The troops of Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group of J&K Police late Monday were searching the Dhari Gote Urarbagi area of the forest, located about 55 km from Doda town.

The operation saw an exchange of fire with terrorists, who then tried to escape, but were chased by an officer in the dense forest. This led to another fight around 9 pm, the officials said.

The officer and four other soldiers were injured in the operation and four of them later succumbed to their injuries.

Villager reported of suspicious movement

Earlier on Monday, security forces had received inputs on suspicious movements, following which a search operation was launched in Jammu, Doda and Reasi districts.

This came after a villager alerted the officials about suspicious movement of three persons in combat attire in Jammu's Akhnoor sector and nearby areas. However, nothing was found at the time. It was not immediately clear if the evening search operation was linked to the earlier input.

The search was also launched in the Koti forest area of Doda. Since June, there has been a surge in

terror-linked violence in the sensitive areas of Jammu: Poonch, Rajouri, Doda and Reasi.

What is behind the surge in terror activity in Jammu?

The first major terror incident that rocked the nation was the Reasi terror attack on a pilgrim bus on June 10, in which nine people were killed and 41 injured after terrorists opened fire on the vehicle on its way towards Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra. Since then, there have been several reports of encounters between security officials and terrorists.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times dated July 9, an expert has attributed the surge in terror activity to the void created by a reduction in troop density in Jammu.

In the south of Pir Panjal range, troops are being pulled out and re-deployed in Ladakh amid the ongoing border stand-off with China along the Line of Actual Control.

Former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General BS Jaswal (retd) told HT, “The terrorists want to exploit the void created by the redeployment of forces.” He further noted that the infiltrators are looking at using “ingress routes to enter the Kashmir valley” from this (Jammu region) side, posing security challenges.

In the wake of incidents, Home Minister Amit Shah directed the forces last month to adopt the tactics used in Kashmir to contain the violence in Jammu. The Army has already sent additional troops to Rajouri-Poonch sector.