Two Territorial Army soldiers were abducted by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, leading to a large-scale search operation. While one soldier was found dead, the other managed to escape, sparking concerns over repeated abductions in the region.
Two Territorial Army soldiers were reportedly kidnapped by terrorists in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting the launch of a search operation. The body of one of the soldiers, who had been missing since Tuesday, has now been recovered with gunshot wounds, sources reported.
The abduction took place on Tuesday in Shangus, located in the Kokernag area of Anantnag district. One of the soldiers had managed to escape, reported ANI.
In response to the abduction, security forces, including the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police, had initiated a large-scale search operation in the region.
“Two Territorial Army jawans were abducted by terrorists in the forest area of Anantnag. One of them has returned and a search operation is underway for the other,” sources told ANI.
The Indian Army's Srinagar-based Chinar Corps also shared details of the operation. "Based on intelligence input, a joint counter-terrorist operation was launched by the Indian Army along with Jammu and Kashmir Police and other agencies in Kazwan Forest in Kokernag on October 8. The operation continued overnight as one soldier of the Territorial Army was reported missing," they said in a post on X.
In August 2023, a similar incident occurred when an army soldier went missing from his hometown in Kulgam, Kashmir, while on leave but was later found by police. Wani, in his late 20s, disappeared after leaving his home in Asthal, Kulgam, to buy food. His family later found his abandoned car nearby with bloodstains.
In 2019, another soldier, Yasin Bhat, narrowly escaped an abduction attempt at his home in Qazipora, Budgam, after terrorists stormed his house.
Over the past eight years, more than five soldiers have been abducted and killed in Kashmir, with most incidents occurring in the Shopian and Kulgam areas, and one case reported in Budgam in 2022.