Two soldiers injured in Rajouri gunfight, operation enters second day

Two soldiers were hurt during a gunbattle with terrorists in Rajouri's forests in Jammu and Kashmir, raising concerns about the length of a future operation as militants seek cover in the rugged terrain and thick flora.

Official sources claimed that although the operation began on Monday afternoon, the gunfight didn't begin until Monday night, hurting two jawans. They claimed that the army was following suspected two or three militants' movements using high-tech helicopters and drones.

By Tuesday evening, a police officer reported that the operation had already carried on for 30 hours, although he expressed hope that it wouldn't continue for days as the recent Kokernag operation, which lasted for eight days, did.

A colonel, a major, a deputy superintendent of police, and a soldier were killed in the Kokernag gunfight last month.

Another illustration of a change in militant strategy to move their conflict with the security forces from the plains to the highlands is the operation in Rajouri.

The Broh and Soom forest belts in Rajaori's Kalakote were roped off on Monday as a result of intelligence regarding suspicious movements, according to officials.

As the troops attempted to breach the perimeter, the insurgents started firing. On Tuesday, extra forces were dispatched to the area in order to encircle a sizable area and lay siege to it in order to stop the terrorists from fleeing.

According to sources, Mukesh Singh, the additional director of police and chief of the Jammu police, traveled from Jammu to Rajouri, 200 kilometers distant, on Tuesday to oversee the operation there.

Two to three militant organizations are active in the Pir Panchal region, which includes the bordering districts of Rajouri and Poonch, according to director-general of police Dilbagh Singh.

In Jammu and Kashmir this year, the area has seen the greatest number of occurrences related to militancy.

This year, the terrorists have carried out a number of high-profile strikes in the area, killing 10 soldiers and seven members of the minority Hindi population.

There were also various gunfights where more than twenty militants were slain.