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Kupwara encounter ends; two soldiers, cops dead
The four-day encounter in the border district of Kupwara culminated in the death of five militants, two soldiers - including an officer - and two policemen. Police said the bodies of the five militants were retrieved from the site on Thursday evening.
The encounter had started on Monday, when a group of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba militants attempted to sneak through the Line of Control via the Awathkul forests near Kralpora, around 130 km north of Srinagar.
Brigadier General Staff of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps AL Chavan, who laid a wreath on the coffin of Lieutenant Sushil Khajuria, who died while fighting the infiltrators, said the terrorists had sneaked in during the intervening night of September 26 and 27 but the intelligence network alerted troops in Shamasbari range to intercept them.
Soldiers of 18 Grenadiers and a column of police personnel belonging to the anti-insurgency Special Operations Group were dispatched to launch a cordon-and-search.
The gunfight continued for long due to rugged terrain and dense forest. Head Constable Shiraz Ahmad and Constable Gulzar Ahmad died in the first bout of firing. Later, Lt Khajuria also fell to the bullets.
Late on Wednesday evening, another soldier was killed in the fierce gunfight. Sources said the Army and police summoned villagers to retrieve the bodies of militants, which were later handed over for last rites.
“The area is a difficult hilly terrain and that is why this gunbattle was extended,” Chavan told reporters on Thursday morning. He said that during this year, 24 infiltration attempts had been made but the interception by alert troops led to the death of an equal number of infiltrators.
The encounter had started on Monday, when a group of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba militants attempted to sneak through the Line of Control via the Awathkul forests near Kralpora, around 130 km north of Srinagar.
Brigadier General Staff of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps AL Chavan, who laid a wreath on the coffin of Lieutenant Sushil Khajuria, who died while fighting the infiltrators, said the terrorists had sneaked in during the intervening night of September 26 and 27 but the intelligence network alerted troops in Shamasbari range to intercept them.
Soldiers of 18 Grenadiers and a column of police personnel belonging to the anti-insurgency Special Operations Group were dispatched to launch a cordon-and-search.
The gunfight continued for long due to rugged terrain and dense forest. Head Constable Shiraz Ahmad and Constable Gulzar Ahmad died in the first bout of firing. Later, Lt Khajuria also fell to the bullets.
Late on Wednesday evening, another soldier was killed in the fierce gunfight. Sources said the Army and police summoned villagers to retrieve the bodies of militants, which were later handed over for last rites.
“The area is a difficult hilly terrain and that is why this gunbattle was extended,” Chavan told reporters on Thursday morning. He said that during this year, 24 infiltration attempts had been made but the interception by alert troops led to the death of an equal number of infiltrators.
