Srinagar: A member of J&K police’s elite special operations group (SOG) who was injured on December 15 in an ongoing encounter with suspected militants in Udhampur district has succumbed.Two more SOG personnel were injured in a fresh exchange of fire today morning.This is the second encounter in less than three months in the strategic Udhampur district of Jammu division, home to the Army’s Northern Command, and the third encounter with militants this year in which security forces have suffered casualties.Inspector General of Police (IGP), Jammu, Bhim Sen Tuti said that a fierce encounter broke out when a joint team of J&K police, army and paramilitary forces launched a search operation in Soan village in Majalta area of Udhampur on Monday afternoon.Tuti said that the operation was launched following information about the presence of three suspected terrorists in the area who are believed to be affiliated with Pakistan-based proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit.The Udhampur village is located in a hilly area with treacherous terrain and dense forest which hampered the operation as darkness fell on Monday evening when security forces established contact with the suspects.The strategic district in Jammu division falls adjacent to Kathua district that shares the International Border with Pakistan. In addition to being home to the Army’s northern command, the Udhampur district also has several crucial military installations.In a post on X, IGP Tuti said that “a very small SOG team” exchanged gunfire with the militants during which one SOG jawan identified as Amjad Pathan, a resident of Mendhar in Poonch district of Jammu, was injured who later succumbed to injuries.According to reports, one militant is believed to have suffered injuries in the initial gunfight. Additional reinforcements of security forces have been rushed to the area to prevent the suspects from escaping.“The area has been brought under a tight cordon and search operation is underway,” a police officer said.On September 19, an army soldier was killed in an encounter with a group of three to four heavily armed militants in Dudu Basantgarh area in the upper reaches of Udhampur district.On April 24, an army soldier was killed in a firefight with militants in Dudu-Basantgarh area of Udhampur where a search operation was launched following information about the presence of militants in the area.An army soldier was killed on August 13 in a fierce gunfight with a group of militants who tried to infiltrate along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.According to Delhi-based South Asia Terrorism Portal, 17 security personnel have lost their lives in encounters with militants in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir this year. At least 46 suspected militants have also been gunned down during this period.