3 soldiers dead, 5 terrorists killed in Kupwara gunfight
The encounter has left four soldiers injured
nSRINAGAR: Three soldiers of the Indian Army were martyred and five terrorists killed on Sunday during an anti-infiltration operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, officials said.
Sources said four other soldiers were injured during the operation to flush out infiltrators along the Line of Control (LOC) in Keran sector of the district.
During the operation, a soldier died while two others were critically injured and succumbed to their injuries later, said sources.
The army said the operation, which began two days ago, is still underway. It started when a group of infiltrators was spotted near the LOC.
The army cordoned off the dense forest area and contact with the infiltrators was established which resulted in a gunfight.
Army spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia confirmed the deaths and added, “Despite prevailing inclement weather conditions, casualties have been evacuated.”
The army said that braving inclement weather and hostile terrain, the troops managed to kill five terrorists in the operation. It said that the five, believed to be part of a group of infiltrators which had recently sneaked into the Valley, were attempting to infiltrate across the LOC.
The army said that it has killed a total of nine terrorists, including the five infiltrators, within the last 24 hours.
On Saturday, four terrorists were killed at Batapura in the Kulgam area of south Kashmir. “Four terrorists who were involved in the killing of innocent civilians were eliminated at Batapura area of south Kashmir on April 4,” Col Kalia said.
All the four terrorists were from Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit, the police had said.
Two soldiers of the Indian Army were also injured in the Saturday’s encounter, which took place in Hardmand Guri village of Kulgam, officials said.
The operation was launched on Saturday after security forces received a tip-off about the presence of militants in the village, they said, adding that the encounter lasted for several hours.
“A Hizbul Mujahideen group of terrorists was killing civilians over the past 12 days. Four such killings were done by them in south Kashmir. The police were able to track them down, and an operation was launched on Saturday
morning by the police, security forces, and the Army in which three of them have been neutralised,” a police spokesperson had said.
“After the clearance of debris, a confirmation about the fourth terrorist’s presence will be possible,” the spokesperson had said.
UNEXPLODED MORTAR SHELL DESTROYED
Meanwhile, the Army’s anti-explosion experts on Sunday destroyed a live mortar shell in a forward area along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
The shell had remained unexploded during the recent crossborder shelling by Pakistani army and was noticed by some border residents near Ghani village in Krishna Ghati sector, the officials said, adding that the army experts rushed to the scene and safely destroyed the mortar shell.