An Indian Army Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), who was injured in a gunfight with heavily armed militants near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu late Friday night, succumbed to his injuries, officials said on Saturday.

The gunfight erupted after alert troops intercepted a group of terrorists attempting to infiltrate from across the border in the Keri Battal area.

According to security officials, the troops posted along the LoC detected suspicious movement and swiftly responded, leading to an exchange of fire. One army personnel sustained injuries during the gunfight and was immediately evacuated for treatment. However, he later succumbed to his injuries.

Officials confirmed that the infiltration bid was successfully thwarted. The area has been cordoned off, and additional reinforcements have been deployed to carry out a thorough search operation to ensure no terrorists are hiding in the vicinity.

In a separate incident, Pakistan violated the ceasefire agreement in the Poonch sector shortly after the Akhnoor encounter. At around 11:30 pm on April 11, Pakistani troops opened fire at the Hathi Post in the Poonch sector. The Indian Army retaliated in equal measure, and the exchange of fire continued until 12:30 am. No loss of life was reported in the Poonch ceasefire violation.

Source: India Today