14 security personnel, 25 terrorists among 46 killed in Jammu region this year

Forty-six people, including 14 security personnel and 25 terrorists, were killed in three districts of Jammu this year, officials said on Wednesday, ascribing the uptick in violence to "desperate attempts from across the border" to revive militancy in the region.

The dead included three Army officers, including two captains, who lost their lives in an ongoing anti-terrorist operation in Bajimaal area of Rajouri district.

Two earlier ambushes in Mendhar area of Poonch and Kandi forest of Rajouri on April 20 and May 5, respectively had claimed the lives of 10 soldiers, including five commandos.

According to officials, 46 deaths have been recorded in terrorism-related violence since January this year in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and nearby Reasi district.

While 23 people, including seven terrorists and nine security personnel, have been killed in Rajouri, this year, 15 terrorists and five security personnel have been killed in Poonch district. Three terrorists were killed in Reasi district.

Most of the terrorists were killed while attempting to sneak into this side of the border, the officials said.

The latest encounter in Rajouri comes close on the heels of another gunfight in Behrote in Budhal area on November 17, which left one terrorist dead.

The officials said the uptick in the encounters was a result of massive counter-terrorist operations by security agencies to scuttle repeated attempts from across the border to revive militancy in the Jammu region, and to ease pressure on the terrorists operating in Kashmir Valley.

This year, 120 people, including 81 terrorists and 26 security personnel, have been killed in militancy-related violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

The dead includes an Army colonel and a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) who lost their lives in a week-long operation in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.