Doda Terror Attacks: J&K Police Release Sketches of 4 Suspected Terrorists; 7 Security Personnel Injured

In separate encounters with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, five soldiers and two police officers sustained injuries.

On Wednesday, the Jammu and Kashmir Police issued sketches of four terrorists connected to two separate attacks in Doda district, offering a reward of ₹20 lakh for information leading to their capture. The previous day, terrorists opened fire on a joint checkpoint manned by the 4 Rashtriya Rifles and police in Chattergalla, Bhaderwah. The following day, a search team in the Gandoh area was assaulted, resulting in injuries to seven security personnel, including one policeman.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police have released sketches of four terrorists suspected to be active in the upper regions of Bhaderwah, Thathri, and Gandoh, engaging in terror-related activities, according to a police spokesperson. A reward of ₹5 lakh for information on each terrorist has been announced. The police have urged the public to provide any information on the whereabouts and movements of these individuals.

On Wednesday, five soldiers and two police officers were injured in separate encounters. The first incident occurred when terrorists attacked a checkpoint in the upper reaches of Doda. Hours later, another group of terrorists fired at security forces, marking two of the three gunbattles within 26 hours that have heightened fear in the region, which is becoming a hotspot for cross-border terrorism.

In the first attack, three to four terrorists fired on a joint checkpoint of the 4 Rashtriya Rifles and Jammu & Kashmir Police in Chattargala on the Bhaderwah-Pathankot road at 1:45 AM, resulting in a lengthy gunbattle that injured five army personnel and a special police officer.

The second attack took place in the Kota Top area, 150 km away from Chattargala, where terrorists attacked a police team, injuring head constable Fareed Ahmed.

Another gunbattle erupted in Kathua, approximately 220 km away, starting late Tuesday night and continuing into Wednesday morning. This encounter left one Central Reserve Police Force jawan dead, six security personnel and one civilian injured, and two terrorists neutralized.

Senior police officials have noted a shift in Jammu from "resident terrorism" to "foreign terrorism," indicating a decline in local youths joining terrorist ranks while foreign terrorists, estimated at 70-80, continue to infiltrate with arms and ammunition. Without directly naming Pakistan, additional director general of police Anand Jain attributed the ongoing unrest to the "hostile" neighbor’s efforts to disrupt peace in the Jammu region.

In a related incident, police released a sketch of a terrorist involved in an attack on a passenger bus in Reasi district on Tuesday night, offering a ₹20 lakh reward for information leading to his capture. On June 9, terrorists fired at a bus carrying pilgrims from the Shiv Khori temple to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, causing the bus to plunge into a gorge, resulting in nine deaths and 42 injuries.