Brief gunfight in J&K after infiltration bid foiled, ops on to sanitise region

The gunfight took place at around 3.40 am, after Army troops intercepted and challenged a group of armed infiltrators.Jammu,Oct 17, 2026 10:41 ISTA brief encounter broke out in the Keran sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district early on Saturday after Army troops intercepted and challenged a group of armed infiltrators. The exchange of gunfire, which took place at around 3.40 am, was followed by a thorough combing operation.Additional personnel were brought in for the intensive search operation aimed at sanitising the area and ascertaining whether any infiltrators had managed to sneak in.The failed infiltration bid came days after four terrorists, including top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Mohammad Faizan, were killed in a mine blast while attempting to cross the LoC into Poonch district in J&K.The mines, planted as part of the anti-infiltration grid, exploded as the group attempted to cross the LoC in the Krishna Ghati sector, killing all four of them on the spot. Besides Faizan, the three other terrorists were identified as Wakas, Ishtiaq and Asim. Just hours before that incident, an explosion was reported in the Satwal-Naki area near the zero line in the Krishna Ghati sector.According to officials, a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) went off during the movement of a group of people along the Pakistan side of the LoC. At the time, casualties had been reported, but the exact number of people killed or injured was not immediately known.- Ends