Jammu, June 14 (IANS) The anti-terrorist operation code-named ‘Operation Sheruwali’ in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district entered its 23rd day on Sunday. “Operation Sheruwali' is being conducted in the dense Dorimal forests of the Gambir Mughlan area in Rajouri district, making it one of the longest ongoing counter-terror operations in the region. Joint forces, including the Army, J&K Police and CRPF, have intensified operations across the challenging, rugged forest terrain. The operation is being carried out in the densely forested hills of Dorimal, where steep slopes, rocky mountains, and thick vegetation continue to pose significant challenges to the troops on the ground.

Despite the difficult conditions, security personnel remain on high alert, conducting extensive searches, additional surveillance, and area domination measures to track down any suspicious movement. The prolonged search operations highlight the determination of security forces to ensure peace and maintain security in the border district. Earlier, on June 7, an Indian Army jawan lost his life after he accidentally slipped from a rock during Operation Sheruwali. According to sources, the soldier was moving through the rugged and challenging mountainous terrain during the anti-terror operation when he lost his balance and slipped into a rocky slope, sustaining erious injuries.

He was immediately evacuated for medical treatment, but later succumbed to his injuries. On May 28, heavy firing and shelling erupted in Rajouri's Dorimal forest area as Operation Sheruwali reached a critical stage, with security forces tightening the cordon to neutralise suspected militants hiding in the dense terrain. According to officials, a massive deployment of security forces, along with additional reinforcements and logistical support, was rushed to the encounter site to ensure a "strong and impenetrable cordon" and to prevent any attempt by militants to escape through the thick forest cover.

The operation is an ongoing, large-scale counter-terrorism combing mission in the dense forest belts which was started in late May. The multi-agency operation aims to locate and neutralise armed infiltrators holed up in the region's rugged mountainous terrain. The twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in the Jammu region have re-emerged as a highly sensitive hotbed for terrorist activities, sharing a long and porous Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Before 2019, the region had largely been declared militancy-free. However, heavily armed groups -- often foreign mercenaries -- have utilised the dense forests, rugged terrain, and natural caves as safe hideouts to establish a renewed foothold. In recent years, security forces have faced repeated ambushes and attacks, prompting massive area-domination and cordon-and-search operations.

--IANS