2 jawans kidnapped in J&K, one found dead with bullet wounds, other escapes

Two Army jawans were kidnapped during an anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag on Wednesday. One of them escaped with bullet injuries, while the other was found dead in a forest.

In Short

• Two Army soldiers kidnapped during anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir
• Bullet-ridden body of one of the soldiers recovered by security officials
• Incident comes a day after Assembly election results in Jammu and Kashmir

An Indian Army soldier was found dead, with bullet injuries on his body, after being kidnapped by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, police sources said on Wednesday, October 9.

Two soldiers, belonging to the 161 unit of the Territorial Army, were kidnapped from the forest area in Anantnag during a joint anti-terror operation that was launched on October 8 by the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police. But, one of them managed to escape, even after suffering two bullet injuries.

The injured soldier was rushed to a medical facility for necessary treatment and his condition remains stable, sources said.

Later, the bullet-ridden body of the kidnapped soldier, Hilal Ahmad Bhat, was recovered from Anantnag's Pathribal forest area on Wednesday. The incident came a day after the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly results.

A massive operation has been launched by the Army and Jammu and Kashmir to track the terrorists involved in the incident.

"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," Indian Army's Srinagar-based Chinar Core said in a post on X.

Earlier in August this year, two soldiers were killed, and three others were injured in an encounter between security forces and terrorists in Anantnag.

Prior to this, four Army personnel and a police officer lost their lives in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district 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).