A tragic incident unfolded in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on October 9, when two Indian Army soldiers were kidnapped by terrorists during a joint anti-terror operation. One of the soldiers managed to escape with bullet injuries, while the other was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds.
The soldiers, both from the 161 unit of the Territorial Army, were abducted from a forested area in Anantnag on October 8, when a coordinated operation by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police was launched to counter terrorist activities in the region. Despite being shot twice, one of the soldiers managed to flee and was quickly taken to a medical facility. According to sources, his condition remains stable following treatment.
The other soldier, identified as Hilal Ahmad Bhat, was not as fortunate. His bullet-riddled body was recovered from the Pathribal forest area in Anantnag the next day. Bhat’s tragic death marks yet another loss in the ongoing battle against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
The incident has sparked a massive manhunt by both the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police to locate and apprehend the terrorists responsible. Intelligence inputs have pointed to terrorist movements in the Kazwan Forest area of Kokernag, leading security forces to continue their operations overnight in an effort to track the culprits.
The Indian Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Core, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), confirmed the incident and said, “Based on intelligence input, a joint counter-terrorist operation was launched by the Indian Army along with Jammu and Kashmir Police and other agencies in Kazwan Forest in Kokernag on October 8. The operation continued overnight as one soldier of the Territorial Army was reported missing.”
This attack is part of a pattern of increasing violence in the region. Earlier in August, two soldiers were killed and three others injured during a confrontation between security forces and terrorists in Anantnag. Additionally, in a prior incident in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, four Army personnel and a police officer lost their lives in an encounter with heavily armed terrorists. The attack was claimed by the ‘Kashmir Tigers,’ a proxy group of the Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
The situation remains tense as security forces continue their efforts to bring the terrorists to justice and secure the region from further violence.
