4 security personnel killed in encounter with militants in Kupwara

Two troopers and an equal number of policemen were killed while four other security personnel were injured in an ongoing encounter between militants and security forces in north Kashmir's frontier district of Kupwara on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, fresh firing was reported between the security forces and a group of militants at Check Fatehkhan, Halmatpora, Kupwara, a day after four ultras were gunned down in the area on Tuesday evening.

Sources said the firing was intermittently going on throughout the night but it intensified since morning. While two army personnel and two policemen were killed in the fresh firing on Wednesday, four more security personnel were also injured.

The deceased soldiers have been identified as Mohammad Ashraf Rather and Naik Ranjeet Singh of 160 battalion Territorial Army while slain policemen are Mohammad Yousuf Cheche and Deepak Pandit.  

The army said four militants have been killed in the gun battle, but only three bodies have been recovered. Director General of Police Shesh Pal Vaid also confirmed the killing of only three militants so far in the encounter, which started when a group of militants believed to be seven to eight in number fired upon a joint team of army and police at Check Fatehkhan forests.

The army also rushed para commandos to the area on Tuesday evening to flush out the remaining ultras. The encounter site is around 8 km from Kupwara town and Halmathpora is the last village before the Line of Control (LoC).

While south Kashmir remains the stronghold of local militants, northern parts of the Valley, being infiltration route, are dominated by foreign, especially Pakistani ultras. Over 70% of the operations in north Kashmir are taking place near the LoC.  

"Contrary to what is being projected in the media that south Kashmir is hotbed of militancy, the figures reveal that north has more active militants. The militants in the north are well equipped and well trained and are mostly Pakistanis," a senior police officer told DH.