3-day gunbattle in Kupwara ends
The firefight which had begun on Saturday morning after the Army troops had detected and confronted a group of heavilyarmed militants in Nowgam sector of the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s northwestern Kupwara district is over.
But the search of the area is still underway during which Army helicopters are being used for surveillance of the difficult terrain surrounded by thick forests, the police and Army sources here said.
Four militants and three Army soldiers were killed in the fierce exchange of fire, the longest encounter in many weeks witnessed in the area.
On Monday, the corpses of the slain Army jawans were flown to Srinagar where senior Army commanders and other officials paid glowing tributes with full military honours to them. Homage was paid to the “valour and sacrifice” of the jawans in a solemn ceremony held at Badami Bagh Cantonment, the headquarters of Army’s 15 (Chinar) Corps, defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.
A statement issued by the Army added, “The Army on Monday paid homage to three of its gallant soldiers who embraced martyrdom in a major counter infiltration operation launched over two days in Nowgam sector along the LoC during which four heavily armed terrorists were eliminated”.
Chinar Corps Commander Lt. Gen. J.S. Sandhu was joined by top officials of the civil administration and those of various security forces operating in the Valley in paying rich tributes to Havaldars Giris Gurung and Damar Bahadur Pun and Rifleman Rabin Sharma in the ceremony.