Two ultras, solider killed in twin LoC encounters

At least two militants and a soldier were killed in twin encounters as the Army foiled two infiltration bids along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Sunday.

Defence spokesman Colonel N N Joshi said troops noticed the movement of heavily armed militants near Jumagund Nar in Keran sector of Kupwara. The militants were trying to sneak into Indian territory. “The Army challenged the infiltrating militants but they fired back, leading to a fierce gun battle in which two terrorists were killed,” he said.

In an overnight encounter near Ragni post near the LoC in Tangdhar sector, a soldier was killed and two others injured when a group of infiltrators attacked an Army patrol party, Col Joshi said.

The deceased solider has been identified as Bashir Ahmad War, a resident of Bohipora, Kupwara.

Sources told Deccan Herald that the encounter started after the Army’s 20 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) noticed movement of five to six heavily armed militants near Ragni post and launched a operation to nab them. They said the group had infiltrated during the night and was intercepted by the Army patrol party.

Reinforcements have been rushed to the area to prevent militants from fleeing the cordoned area, reports said, adding the firing has stopped but the militants are in the cordoned off area and operation against them continues.

Tanghdar sector is the traditional route for infiltrators and every year, a majority of the militants cross the LoC through the route. The rugged terrain, high altitude and dense forests and bushes give natural cover to the infiltrators in the area which makes the infiltration easy in this sector.

The Army said there have been eight infiltration attempts this year in which 17 militants were killed. Last year, 59 militants were eliminated along the LoC in Kashmir, mostly in Tanghdar sector. The figure was the highest in recent years.

The launch pads across the LoC in Pakistan occupied Kashmir were active, sources said and added that there were a large number of militants and intensity of attempts to infiltrate was also high. The Army maintains that over 200 heavily armed militants were ready to infiltrate.