On July 15, there was a brief gunfight in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir between terrorists and security personnel. Kashmir Tigers, a covert organization of the terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammad, which is supported by Pakistan, took credit for the attack. The confrontation led to four Army personnel, including an officer and a police officer being executed. Helicopters and drones were brought in to find the terrorists. The incident occurred late on Monday night when the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Rashtriya Rifles troops conducted a combined cordon and search operation at Dhari Gote Urarbagi in the Desa forest zone, around 55 km from Doda town. 

Authorities reported that at approximately 7:45 p.m., a search and cordon operation was started in the Desa woodland region, which is where the gunfight started. During the first twenty minutes or more of the firefight, security men were injured. Officials claimed on Monday that the injured were flown to a hospital and that their condition was listed as “critical”. They claimed that there were two to three suspected terrorists hiding in the neighborhood, which is why the operation was still ongoing. 

Following a brief gunfight, the officials reported that the terrorists tried to escape but were captured by the troops under the command of an officer, who pursued them over difficult terrain and dense forest. This resulted in another gunfight in the woods at almost nine o’clock at night. Four of the soldiers including the officer later died from their wounds, while five soldiers were left gravely injured in the fight, according to the officials. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh was informed over the phone about the ground situation in Doda by General Upendra Dwivedi, the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). 

The terrorist organization “Kashmir Tigers” said in a statement that the conflict and gunplay started as the security forces began looking for the “Mujahideen. The same group had earlier taken credit for the July 9 attack on an Army convoy in Kathua. 

Concerning the armed encounter in the Dessa area of District Doda, Union Minister Jitendra Singh has voiced strong concerns. Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), he wrote, “Deeply disturbed by the reports of an armed encounter in the Dessa area of district #Doda in my Lok Sabha constituency. Words fall short of condoning and condemning the martyrdom of our Bravehearts. Let all of us join to defeat the nefarious designs of the enemy and, maintain peace and harmony for which Doda has always been known for.”  

Moreover, Mehbooba Mufti, the leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), stated after the incident, “Soldiers from all over the country come to Kashmir for their duty, but go back in coffins. Who is responsible for this if you say militancy has ended in the valley?”. She further claimed most casualties occurred in the last 32 months since the current DGP was appointed.