Soldier dead in Pak fire in J&K; 2 Hizbul militants gunned down

JAMMU/SRINAGAR: An Indian Army soldier was killed on Saturday in sniper fire by Pakistani troops, while two BSF personnel were injured in cross-border firing along the Line of Control (LOC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), officials said.

Rifleman Varun Kattal, 21, a resident of Mawa-rajpura area of Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, was shot dead by a sniper from across the border in Sunderbani sector, the officials said. This was the second sniper attack along the LOC in two days. An Army porter lost his life in a similar attack in Akhnoor sector on Friday.

Two BSF personnel manning a border outpost in Sunderbani sector were also injured in an exchange of fire with Pakistani troops this evening and were hospitalised, the officials said.

Meanwhile, two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were on Saturday killed in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, less than 12 hours after forces gunned down a Pakistani militant in Tral.

A cordon-and-search operation was launched in the Tikken village of Pulwama Saturday morning after receiving specific information about the presence of militants there, a police spokesman said. He said as the forces were conducting the searches, the militants opened fire on them. The forces retaliated and in the ensuing encounter, two militants were killed, the spokesman said.

››FULL REPORTS, P7

INDIAN ARMY RIFLEMAN VARUN KATTAL, 21, WAS SHOT DEAD BY A PAK SNIPER FROM ACROSS THE BORDER