A colonel, a major and a deputy superintendent of police are feared to have been killed during an operation to flush out militants inside a dense forest in Kashmir on the bloodiest day for security forces in years in the Valley.

There was officially no word on the deaths of the officers till 10pm but several social media handles ran reports on the casualties.

The Congress said the “entire nation is deeply saddened by the news of the tragic encounter in Anantnag, in which our Indian Army jawans lost their lives. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten!”

BJP India’s X handle remained busy posting videos and messages of Prime Minister Narendra Modi being garlanded at the party headquarters in New Delhi. A message posted around 9pm said the BJP Parliament Board had passed a resolution to extend “congratulations to the Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi for the historic and exceptionally successful hosting of the G20 summit in India”.

The last time security forces lost multiple senior officers in a gunfight with militants was in May 2020 when a colonel and a major were among several killed in north Kashmir’s Kupwara, making Wednesday’s losses the worst for officers in three years.

Militant group The Resistance Front, which is a front for the Lashkar, has taken responsibility for Wednesday's killings. The group said it carried out the attack to avenge the death of its commander Muhammad Riaz alias Abu Qasim, who was killed inside a mosque in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s Rawalakot last week. Qasim was a resident of Poonch in Jammu.

The army said a gunfight erupted during the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday when it received inputs about the presence of militants in Garol village of Kokernag in south Kashmir.

Sources said the operation was suspended on Tuesday night as the militants managed to escape, taking advantage of thick foliage. The operation resumed early on Wednesday, with the officers leading from the front.

The waiting militants opened fire, injuring Colonel Manpreet Singh, commanding officer of the 19 Rashtriya Rifles; Major Ashish Dhonack and DySP Humayun Bhat. All three succumbed to their wounds, the sources said.

The soldiers had a tough time retrieving the officers, who had multiple bullet wounds, as militants continued their relentless fire. The initial army and police statements did not mention whether any injured person was shifted to hospital, suggesting the possibility of casualties on the ground.

TV footage from the spot showed the army using a chopper for evacuation.

Commanding officer Singh, who had won a Sena medal, was a resident of Punjab’s Ropar district.

Srinagar resident Humayun, in his early thirties, was the son of IPS officer Ghulam Hassan Bhat who retired as deputy inspector-general of police in 2018. Family sources said Humayun married last year and was the father of an infant.

Police chief Dilbagh Singh and the Valley's army chief, Lt General Rajiv Ghai, and other senior officers rushed to the spot.

The killings are a stark reminder of how militancy remains a challenge despite official claims that all is well in Jammu and Kashmir.

While Kashmir’s militancy graph had fallen in the past few years, the Jammu region has seen a revival of militancy. Ten army soldiers, including five elite commandos, died in two militant attacks this year in Jammu’s Poonch and Rajouri districts.

An army soldier was killed and three jawans were injured in Rajouri in a two-day gunfight on Tuesday and Wednesday. Two militants were also killed in the gunfight.

Three soldiers were killed on August 4 in Kulgam district of the Valley in an attack believed to have been carried out by militants operating in Pir Panchal. The attack took place as authorities were busy with preparations to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir's special status.

In May 2020, Colonel Ashutosh Sharma was among five security forces personnel who fell to militant bullets in Kupwara district of north Kashmir. He headed the army’s 21 Rashtriya Rifles, a counter-insurgency force fighting militants in Jammu and Kashmir.