Indian colonel, major among 5 security personnel killed in gunfight
srinagar — Five security personnel and two militants were killed in a major spike in fighting in Jammu and Kashmir when the army and police stormed a house where militants were holding hostages, officials said.
A five-member counterinsurgency team entered the house in northwestern Handwara area on late Saturday and “successfully extricated the civilians,” an Indian army statement said.
An Army Colonel and a Major were among five security personnel killed in the encounter with terrorists at a village in north Kashmir’s Handwara area, Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh said on Sunday.
“Sad to inform that five brave personnel including Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood and sub-inspector of JKP Shakeel Qazi were martyred in the line of duty,” Singh said.
Giving details, the Army said based on the intelligence input that militants were taking hostage some civilians in a house in Changimulla at Handwara of Kupwara district, a joint operation was launched by the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
A team comprising of five Army and police personnel entered the target area occupied by the terrorists to evacuate the civilians and successfully extricated them, it said.
However, during the process,
Dilbagh Singh
Director-General of Police
the team came under a heavy volume of fire by the terrorists and in the ensuing firefight, two terrorists were eliminated and the five Army personnel and a policeman were killed in the line of duty, the Army said.
The other Army personnel killed in the encounter were identified as Naik Rajesh and Lance Naik Dinesh.
Col Sharma was the Commanding Officer of the 21 Rashtriya Rifles and had been decorated for gallantry twice in Kashmir.
A wreath-laying ceremony would be held here after which the Col Sharma’s body would be flown to Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and that of Major Sood to Chandigarh, the officials said. —
Sad to inform that five brave personnel including Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood and sub-inspector of JKP Shakeel Qazi were martyred in the line of duty