2 IAF men die in J&K encounter

SRINAGAR THE SLAIN MEN BELONGED TO THE ELITE GARUD COMMANDO FORCE, AND WERE TRAINING WITH THE ARMY FOR OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE.

: For the first time in Kashmir’s nearly three-decadeslong insurgency, two Indian Air Force (IAF) commandos were killed in a fierce gunfight with militants in the region’s Bandipora district on Wednesday.

Air force personnel have been attacked and killed by insurgents in the troubled region but this is the first time they were participating in ground combat.

“They were training with the army for operational experience,” army spokesman Rajesh Kalia said, referring to Wednesday’s shootout in which two militants were also killed.

The slain men belonged to the elite Garud Commando Force.

The gunbattle started early morning after a joint patrol of the army, police and Garud commandos cordoned off an area in Bandipora’s Hajin following a tip-off that militants were hiding there.

The deaths occurred in the ensuing intense fighting. Sergeant K Milind Kishor, 33, had joined the IAF in 2002. He was from Maharashtra. Hailing from Bihar, Corporal Nilesh Kumar Nayan, 31, joined the Air Force in 2005.

In 1990, at least four air force officers were killed in an ambush by militants in Sannat Nagar of Srinagar, but they were not participating in any operation.

The government has been pursuing a tough line against militants in Kashmir, tracking and killing a number of militant commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba for the past few months.

Garud commandos are trained to guard air force bases as well as fight insurgents and participate in search and rescue operations.