Indian Army dog helps in eliminating two terrorists in J&K despite being hit by bullets; hospitalised

Indian Army assault dog `Zoom` was critically injured during an encounter between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir`s Anantnag district, in which two LeT terrorists were killed.

New Delhi: An Indian Army assault dog was critically injured during an encounter between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday (October 10, 2022). During the encounter, two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists were killed, while dog 'Zoom' along with two soldiers sustained injuries, and were rushed to the hospital.

"Zoom was sent inside the house during the operation where terrorists were hiding. As Zoom was a trained assault dog, he was sent with the task to track the terrorists," an Army officer said. 

He added that as Zoom was on job, he received bullets during the exchange of fire. He was hit by two bullets but still helped to track the terrorists' location.

Earlier in July this month, Army sniffer dog 'Axel' was killed in an anti-terror operation in J&K's Baramulla district. Axel was later honoured with 'Mention-in-Despatches' in this year's gallantry awards. 

It was the highest bravery award that an Army dog has received in recent times for their involvement in a counter-insurgency operation.