Four Indian Army soldiers, including an officer, have been killed in action during an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district on Monday.

According to officials, a joint operation by the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police was launched at Dhari Gote Urarbagi in Desa forest belt, some 55 km from Doda town, late on Monday evening, based on specific information about the presence of terrorists.

After a brief exchange of fire, the officials said the terrorists attempted to escape but were chased by the troops led by an officer, despite challenging terrain and thick foliage, leading to another firefight in the woods at nearly 9 pm.

Five soldiers were critically injured in the encounter and four of them, including the officer, later succumbed to injuries, the officials confirmed, PTI reported.

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The Nagrota-based White Knight Corps, citing initial reports, had confirmed “injuries to our brave hearts”, but did not give details about the injured. It posted on its official handle on ‘X’ that “contact with terrorists was established at about 2100 hrs in which heavy firefight ensued”.

“Additional reinforcements have been moved into the area. Operations are in progress,” it added.

The responsibility for the attack was claimed by ‘Kashmir Tigers’, a shadow group of the Pakistan-backed terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

In a statement, the terror group ‘Kashmir Tigers’ said the clash and gunfire erupted while the security forces launched a search operation for the “Mujahideen”, India Today reported.

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‘Kashmir Tigers’ is the same group that earlier claimed responsibility for the attack on an Army convoy in Kathua on July 9.

This was the second major encounter in the Jammu region after five soldiers were killed in action in Kathua last week.

The Kathua attack, in which five soldiers were also injured, was a coordinated strike on two trucks carrying at least 12 troops.

The terrorists targeted the trucks, which were around 500 metres apart, with grenades and, in worrying signs, used armor-piercing bullets (those tipped with hardened steel) and an M4 assault rifle.

Following a spurt in incidents of terror attacks and reports about the movement of terrorists from different places in the Jammu division, the police and security forces have launched joint combing and search operations at a massive scale in various parts of the division.