Security forces engage two groups of ‘highly-trained’ terrorists in firefight in J&K’s Kishtwar, Kulgam

Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir were engaged in gunfights with two groups of armed terrorists in Kishtwar and Kulgam districts, officials said on Sunday (August 10, 2025). They further said there was a change in tactics by the terrorists, who had switched from urban to jungle warfare.  

In Kishtwar’s Dul area, home to rugged mountains and forests, a spokesman of the Army’s White Knight Corps said the soldiers have launched an intelligence-based operation. “Alert Indian Army troops, while carrying out the operation, established contact with terrorists in the general area of Dul in Kishtwar in the early hours of Sunday,” the Army said. “Gunfire was exchanged [with the hiding terrorists]. The operation is still in progress.”

The terrorists took advantage of Dul’s topography during the firefights, officials said.

The Army said there were no reports of any casualties till Sunday evening. The security forces suspect a group of two to four terrorists to be hiding in the encounter spot.

Meanwhile, in the Kashmir valley, an anti-terror operation of the security forces entered its tenth day in Kulgam’s Akhal forest area.

Officials said the security forces, comprising members of the Army, the police’s Special Operations Group and the Central Reserve Police Force, continued to comb the Akhal forests.

Security forces suspect the presence of three to four terrorists in the forests, “who are highly trained and well-versed with jungle warfare”. One terrorist was killed on the first day of the operation on August 1 while two soldiers were killed on Saturday in fresh exchange of fire with the holed-up terrorists, who had reportedly used high-calibre automatic rifles and grenade-launchers. “The terrorists seem well-versed with the topography and could be using hideouts in the area for many weeks,” an official said.

The Kulgam operation is one of the longest anti-terror operations in Kashmir in the past few years. The Akhal forests too are dense and rugged, making it hard for the security forces to zero in on the holed-up terrorists.

Security forces have pressed drones and helicopters into service to maintain tight vigil of the encounter site.