On the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of articles 370 and 35-A, a group of terrorists fired upon a party of security forces in south Kashmir's Kulgam district in which three soldiers lost their lives in the line of duty.
The encounter which started late Friday evening is still going on till the filing of this report as security forces have launched a massive operation to track down terrorists involved in attacking forces.
Reports said that after getting information about the presence of some terrorists in the forest area of Halan in south Kashmir's Kulgam district, a joint search operation was launched by the security forces late Friday evening.
Terrorists who were hiding in the forest ambushed a team of security forces that had erected a tent in the area as part of an area domination exercise.
"On specific inputs regarding the presence of terrorists on higher reaches of Halan in Kulgam, operations launched by security forces on August 4, 23. In exchange for firing with terrorists, three personnel sustained injuries and later succumbed. Search operations are continuing", the Chinar Corps of the Army tweeted.
Operation Halan #Kulgam
— Chinar Corps? - Indian Army (@ChinarcorpsIA) August 4, 2023
On specific inputs regarding presence of terrorists on higher reaches of Halan in Kulgam, operations launched by Security Forces on 04 Aug 23. In exchange of firing with terrorists, three personnel sustained injuries and later succumbed.
Search operations… pic.twitter.com/NJ3DZa2OpK
Biggest terror attack on forces this year in Kashmir Valley
Halan was the first biggest attack on terrorists on security forces in Kashmir Valley.
Ten soldiers have lost their lives in two back-to-back terror attacks in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri but Halan was the first biggest attack in Kashmir Valley where security forces have mounted pressure on terrorists.
The soldiers who lost their lives in the Halan attack were identified as Havaldar Babulal Haritwal, Signalman Vala Mahipalsinh Pravinsinh, and Rifleman Waseem Sarwar of Army 34 Rashtriya Rifles.
Rifleman Waseem is a resident of Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district. The terrorists subsequently decamped with some weapons, reports said.
Additional troops have been rushed to the area and the search has been intensified to track down the terrorists, believed to be three in number.
Terrorists are believed to sneak into south Kashmir from Poonch, Rajouri.
Initial investigation suggested that terrorists involved in attacking a team of security forces believed to have sneaked into south Kashmir after launching Operation Trinetra in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri.
After the May 5, 2023 terror attack in the Bhata Dhurina area of the Rajouri district, the Army launched "Operation Trinetra" to hunt down terrorists involved in this incident.
Additional columns of the Indian Army have been conducting relentless intelligence-based operations to flush out a group of terrorists active in this region.
Facing pressure from forces in the Pir Panchal range, terrorists have sneaked into south Kashmir.
