A junior commissioned officer (JCO) of Indian Army’s special forces was killed in action while three more soldiers were injured in a gunbattle with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar on Sunday.

The soldier has been identified as Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar.

“GOC (General Officer Commanding) White knight Corps and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of braveheart, Nb Sub Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para (SF). Sub Rakesh was part of a joint CI (counter-insurgency) operation launched in general area of Bhart Ridge Kishtwar. We stand with bereaved family in this hour of grief,” the Army said in an X post.

The encounter broke out earlier in the day when joint search parties of the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police intercepted the terrorists a few kilometres from the spot where the bullet-ridden bodies of village defence guards Nazir Ahmed and Kuldeep Kumar were found. 

A massive search operation was launched in the forests of Kuntwara and Keshwan on Thursday evening after the terrorists abducted and killed the defence guards.

The Army’s Jammu-based White Knight Corps said in a post on X, “Based on specific intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists, a joint operation was launched by security forces in general area Bhart Ridge, Kishtwar. This is the same group which had abducted and killed 02 (two) innocent villagers (village defence guards). Contact was established and firefight ensued.”