3 soldiers die in J&K attack Civilian dies, 10 hurt as forces open fire on mob protesting at encounter site
Captain, subedar and naik martyred in Kupwara terror hit; 2 terrorists killed
An officer and two soldiers were killed in a pre-dawn suicide attack by militants at an artillery base of the Army in Panzgam area of Jammu and Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara district on Thursday. Two militants also died in the troops’ retaliatory fire, Army and police officials said here.
Soon after the attack, protests by locals were held in nearby villages of Panzgam and Kralapora. The Army opened fire when the protesters turned violent near the base, killing one person. Ten others were injured in the firing and during the clashes, reports said.
Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said that a heavily-armed group of militants tried to storm the artillery headquarters of the 155 Field Regiment at Panzgam, about 80 km northwest of here, but alert jawans foiled their attempt and, in the ensuing firefight, Captain Ayush Yadav, a subedar and a naik laid down their lives. “Two terrorists were also killed. The operation is still underway,” he said.
A report, not confirmed by authorities, said that a third militant managed to escape during the exchange of fire.
Captain Yadav, the only son of a UP police inspector, was a native of Kanpur. Just 26 years old, he had spoken to his father over the phone on Wednesday night, asking him and his mother and sister to visit Kashmir. When his father, Arun Kant Singh Yadav, told him that Kashmiri students were throwing stones at security personnel, Ayush told him, “There is nothing to worry as I’m in Kupwara”, media reports from Kanpur said.
The other slain soldiers are Subedar Bhoop Singh Gujjar, 46, of Kherla Bujore village of Dausa district in Rajasthan, and Naik Bhoota Venkata Ramana, 38, of Arivanipallam village in Vizag district of Andhra Pradesh, the Army said.
Police and Army sources said that five jawans, who were injured, had been airlifted to Srinagar and admitted to Army’s 92Base Hospital at Badami Bagh Cantonment.
Sources said that the militants opened fire from their AK-47 assault rifles and also lobbed a few grenades at the camp. One of the injured jawans, Naik Rishi Kumar,
suspected Pak terrorists storm the Army camp in Kupwara near LoC at 4.30 am, kill a Captain, two other soldiers assailants, dressed in black Pathani suit, combat jackets, were gunned down in a fierce 35-minute encounter. The third managed to escape. Soon after the encounter, locals started protesting, demanding the bodies of militants for funeral, leading to a clash in which a civilian died and 10 others were hurt ...An unending cycle of violence has got unleashed in our society which is devouring it and pushing Kashmir towards darkness...
Continued from Page 1 told reporters that when he saw militants approaching him he took position and shot them dead.
Sources said that the attack at the Army base took place at 4.30 am at Panzgam which is located close to the Line of Control (LoC). “It is not yet clear if the terrorists were already present in the area or had just sneaked in from across the LoC to target the Army base,” an Army officer said. The defence spokesman confirmed that it was a “fidayeen” attack which has been “repulsed”. Police sources said that the militants could be members of Jaish-e-Muhammad or Lashkar-e-Tayyaba.
Soon after learning about the death of two militants, groups of people came out on the streets to chant pro-freedom slogans, witnesses said. Officials said that a mob hurled stones at Army and other security personnel just outside Panzgam village. Troops opened fire on the mob which, officials said, had tried to disturb the movement of soldiers.
One person identified as Muhammad Yusuf Bhatt, 55, a resident of Panzgam, was killed and ten others were wounded, reports said. Bhatt, reports added, was hit by a bullet in the neck and died on way to hospital. Locals said that a group of Panzgman residents went near the Army camp to demand that the corpses of the slain militants be handed over to it so that they could be given “decent Islamic funeral” when the clash took place. Kupwara SSP Shamsher Hussain while confirming it said that troops opened fire on a “violent mob”.
Amid heightening tensions over the death of the civilian, the Kupwara DC has ordered curfew-like restrictions in areas falling under Kralapora, Trehgam and Lalpora Sogam police stations areas of the district.
Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti paid rich tributes to the slain Army officer and jawans and said she extends her heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. She also expressed anguish over the death of the civilian “in protests during the day in the area” and reiterated “an unending cycle of violence has got unleashed in our society which is devouring it and pushing Kashmir towards darkness”. She once again appealed the people to “come forward in bringing this cycle of violence to an end and help the government in its efforts of restoring normalcy and peace in the Valley”.
This is the first major attack at an Army base in the frontier region of Kashmir Valley after 19 soldiers were killed in a similar attack carried out by militants at the 12 Infantry Brigade headquarters at Uri in neighbouring Baramulla district on September 18, 2016. The relations between India and Pakistan have deeply strained since the attack, which marked the highest casualty suffered by the Army in years.