Srinagar: An army soldier of special forces who was injured in an ongoing encounter in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir succumbed to his injuries on Monday (January 19), officials said.The Jammu-based White Knight Corps said on X that the deceased, identified as Havildar Gajendra Singh, succumbed after suffering critical injuries on Sunday during an encounter with a group of suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad militants.“The #GOC, White Knight Corps and all ranks pay solemn tribute to Havildar Gajendra Singh of the Special Forces, who made the supreme sacrifice while gallantly executing a Counter Terrorism operation in the Singpura area during the ongoing Operation TRASHI-I on the intervening night of 18-19 Jan 2026,” it said.The army said that the cordon has been “further tightened with search operations expanded” in the area along with J&K Police and Central Reserve Paramilitary Forces. Injured soldiers airliftedThe army had reportedly airlifted three among at least eight soldiers who suffered injuries during the encounter which broke out when the Jaish-e-Mohammad militants exchanged fire with a team of security forces in the hilly district’s Chatroo area during a search operation on Sunday morning.The operation codenamed ‘Operation Tarashi’ was launched by a joint team of J&K Police and the army in the wee hours of Sunday following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of a group of militants in the area.The White Knight Corps said in a post on X that “contact was established” with militants in Son Nar area of Chatroo on Sunday morning.“Troops displayed exceptional professionalism and resolve while responding to hostile fire under challenging terrain and conditions. Operations remain underway with additional forces inducted to reinforce the cordon, supported by close coordination with civil administration and security agencies,” the defence spokesperson said.According to reports, eight soldiers were injured in the encounter. It was not clear how the army soldiers were injured.While some reports have indicated that the injuries were caused by the explosion of a grenade which was lobbed by the militants, others attributed them to the exchange of fire between the two sides.The army has not issued any official statement on the injured soldiers.Earlier, a local news gatherer in Srinagar had reported that three soldiers were critically injured and that they have been airlifted to Jammu for specialised treatment. Kishtwar, which is connected by road to south Kashmir’s Anantnag district through the high-altitude Sinthan Pass, has emerged as a hotspot of militant activities in recent months, prompting security forces to conduct regular search operations in its higher reaches.According to reports, several groups of a total of 35 militants, mostly led by Pakistani nationals, are believed to have taken refuge in Kishtwar and Doda districts of Jammu region. Militancy there had become a thing of the past in the years before the Union government read down Article 370.Amid rising incidents of violence, the army has said that it will continue search operations in the two hilly districts as well as other parts of the Union territory during winters when the area of operations for militants gets reduced due to snow in the higher reaches.In the recent past, security forces and militants have exchanged gunfire at multiple places in Kishtwar which have led to casualties on both sides.On September 13, 2024, two army soldiers were killed in an encounter with militants in the Chatroo area. The same group of militants was believed to have been involved in another encounter in the adjoining Doda district when four army soldiers including an officer were killed in July that year.In April last year, the army claimed to have gunned down three militants in Kishtwar. A month later, an army soldier was killed while two more suffered injuries during an encounter in the same area where the latest gun battle is underway.This story, first published at 10 pm on January 18, 2026, was updated and republished on January 19, 2026. It was further updated at 8.24 am on January 20, 2026, noting that seven and not eight soldiers are injured at present.