After nearly two weeks of relentless combing operations, the first visuals have now emerged from deep inside the Akhal forest belt of Jammu and Kashmir, where security forces remained locked in one of the longest and most grueling anti-terror gunfights in recent memory.
What began as a fierce retaliatory strike under the banner of Operation Sindoor—India’s hard-hitting answer to the Pahalgam attack—has now transformed into a sustained campaign to flush out every last trace of terror and its sponsors.
A Prolonged Jungle Battle
For twelve consecutive days, the thick jungles of Akhal echoed with gunfire as soldiers engaged a heavily armed group trained and equipped for jungle warfare. Unlike conventional encounters in villages or towns, this operation tested the very limits of India’s counter-terror grid.
Forces deployed every available resource to neutralise the group, only to discover that the terrorists had prepared for a long haul. American M4 rifles, advanced long-range scopes, night-vision devices, military-grade GPS units, and specially packed high-calorie dry rations and protein chocolate bars were recovered from the site.
These supplies had allowed the group to sustain itself through the 12-day standoff without any external support—a clear indication of sophisticated planning and external backing.
Challenges of Jungle Warfare
The dense foliage and thick tree cover of the Akhal region severely blunted the edge of aerial surveillance. Drones and UAVs—so effective in urban operations—struggled to penetrate the jungle canopy, forcing ground troops to engage in painstaking close-quarter firefights.
It was during this intense combat that two brave Army soldiers laid down their lives, while nine others sustained injuries, underscoring the high cost of defending India’s sovereignty in hostile terrain.
The Larger Message of Op Sindoor
While the retaliatory strikes under Operation Sindoor against terror launchpads across the border may have been short, sharp, and devastatingly precise, the broader mission continues in the hills and forests of Kashmir.
The ongoing combing operations in Akhal are part of the same larger framework—to hunt down suspects linked to the Pahalgam attack and to send an unmistakable signal to Pakistan and its terror proxies: India will not tolerate cross-border terrorism in any form, in any terrain.
Op Sindoor is, therefore, not just a one-night strike; it is a sustained counter-terror doctrine in motion—combining precision, patience, and overwhelming firepower.
Preparing for the Next Phase
The 12-day jungle battle has forced the security establishment to reassess its standard operating procedures. Recognising the unique demands of forest combat, a multi-agency high-level meeting is now being convened to draft new jungle-warfare protocols.
Among the key proposals is the wider deployment of the CRPF’s CoBRA commandos, an elite force renowned for their jungle warfare expertise gained from years of anti-Naxal operations. Some units are already in the Valley for acclimatisation and are expected to play a frontline role in upcoming missions.
Meanwhile, with urban zones and villages now largely rid of active terror footprints, the Army plans to gradually reduce its presence in civilian areas.
The Rashtriya Rifles battalions will be redeployed to the Line of Control and jungle belts, while local policing in towns will be handed over to the J&K Police and CRPF. This restructuring ensures that the CoBRA battalions become the spearhead in battling the emerging terror hubs hidden in Kashmir’s forests.
The Road Ahead
Operation Sindoor has thus become both a symbol and a strategy—a blend of swift cross-border strikes and prolonged internal sweeps.
If the surgical precision of Sindoor’s opening act shook terror sponsors across the border, its continued jungle hunt in Akhal has demonstrated that India is determined to eliminate terror at its roots, no matter how deep in the forests it hides.
The message is clear: terror in Kashmir will be met with Sindoor’s fire—swift, punishing, and unrelenting.
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