Army foils infiltration bid in Gurez, kills two

Two infiltrators were killed in a gunfight with security forces in north Kashmir’s Gurez sector on Thursday, officials said, adding that an infiltration bid had been foiled.

The encounter took place in Naushehra Nar area of Gurez in Bandipora district after security forces launched an operation based on intelligence inputs.

According to the Army, the inputs came from Jammu and Kashmir Police. “Alert troops spotted suspicious activity and challenged, which resulted in terrorists opening indiscriminate fire. Troops responded with effective fire, neutralising two terrorists,” the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps wrote on X.

The Army said the operation was still in progress. Locals said the encounter site was far from the last habitation in Baktoor–Tarbal village in Gurez. Army sources said efforts were on to retrieve the bodies of the two infiltrators.

Gurez sector has long been used as a traditional infiltration route into Indian territory, connected through dense forests and mountains to Kupwara district, another area of infiltration attempts. Thursday’s incident comes days after the Army fired at suspicious movement in north Kashmir’s Uri sector. Earlier this month, a soldier was killed in Uri during a gunfight near the LoC.