2 soldiers killed, 3 injured in encounter with terrorists in J-K's Anantnag

The encounter broke out after the terrorists opened fire at the search party personnel, who retaliated, the officials said

Two Army personnel were killed and three others injured in a fierce gunfight with terrorists at a forest in a remote area in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday, officials said.

The incident occurred at Ahlan Gagarmandu forest in the Kokernag area of the south Kashmir district during a cordon and search operation that was launched following information about the presence of terrorists there, they said.

The terrorists hiding in the forest opened indiscriminate fire upon noticing the search parties, leading to an intense gun battle, officials said.

Five army personnel were injured in the firing by the terrorists, they said, adding the injured were immediately taken to a hospital, where two of them died.

Reinforcements have been rushed to the area, and an operation to track down and neutralize the terrorists was going on when last reports were received, the officials said.

The Army's Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, in a post on X, said, "Based on specific intelligence input, a joint operation was launched by the Indian Army, @JmuKmrPolice & @crpf_srinagar today in general area Kokernag, Anantnag. Contact was established and a firefight ensued." "Two personnel have been injured and evacuated from the area," it said