An army soldier was killed during the exchange of fire between security forces and militants in Jammu's Udhampur district on Friday night.

Officials said the anti-terror operation was launched against a group of militants hiding deep inside a forest in a remote area near the border between Doda and Udhampur districts.

Sources said the gun battle was underway when the last reports came in.

Army’s Jammu-based White Knight Corps identified the slain soldier as Lance Dafadar Baldev Chand. The army paid tribute to him for making the "supreme sacrifice during an ongoing operation at Kanji, Udhampur, on the night of 19-20 Sep 2025".

There were no reports of any militant casualties in the first 24 hours of the gunfight.

The army had initially said the gunfight was taking place in the Kishtwar district, leading to confusion that two gunfights were underway. However, it was later clarified that the gunfight was taking place in Udhampur.

Jungle warfare, where militants use dense forests rather than habitations for shelter, has emerged as a major challenge for the security forces in the last few years. The thick vegetation has helped militants to escape unhurt on several occasions.

Separately, police said a village defence guard shot himself dead with his rifle in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar on Saturday. Officials identified the deceased as Tek Chand, 45, and said he was upset over a family dispute.

The gunfights in Jammu and Kashmir are showing no signs of abating despite claims by the country's top leadership of crushing militancy in the region.

The army was locked in a nearly fortnight-long gunfight with militants in Kashmir's Kulgam district last month, which left two soldiers dead and 10 others injured.

One militant, a local, was killed during the operation. Two soldiers and two militants were killed on September 8 in another gunfight in the Guddar forest of Kulgam.