<p>A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Army’s special forces laid down his life on Sunday, while three other soldiers were injured in a gunfight with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district.</p>
<p>The deceased soldier has been identified as Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para. The operation comes amid an intensified hunt underway since the killing of two Village Defence Guards (VDGs) recently.</p>
<p>The encounter broke out around 11 am when joint search parties of the Army and police intercepted the terrorists in the Keshwan forest, a few kilometres from the spot where the bullet-riddled bodies of VDGs Nazir Ahmad and Kuldeep Kumar were found.</p>
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<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”><a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#GOC</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteknightCorps?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WhiteknightCorps</a> and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Braveheart?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Braveheart</a>, Nb Sub Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para (SF). Sub Rakesh was part of a joint <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CT</a> operation launched in general area of # Bhart Ridge <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kishtwar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Kishtwar</a> on 09 Nov 2024.<br /><br />We stand with bereaved family in this hour of… <a href=”https://t.co/x9Zw0EnLRX”>pic.twitter.com/x9Zw0EnLRX</a></p>
— White Knight Corps (@Whiteknight_IA) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Whiteknight_IA/status/1855589976949334026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
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<p>”GOC WhiteknightCorps and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of #Braveheart, Nb Sub Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para (SF). Sub Rakesh was part of a joint CT operation launched in general area of # Bhart Ridge #Kishtwar on 09 Nov 2024. We stand with bereaved family in this hour of grief,” the Army’s Jammu-based White Knight Corps said in a post on X. </p>
<p>A massive search operation was launched in the forests of Kuntwara and Keshwan on Thursday evening after the terrorists abducted and killed the VDGs. </p>
<p>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. </p>