JOIN USTwo militants and two soldiers were killed in a fierce gunfight on the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowgam sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
The army foiled a major infiltration bid on Saturday. Sources said the encounter began during the intervening night after the army launched an operation following inputs that a heavily armed group of militants had infiltrated from the Pakistani side.
“After being challenged, the militants fired at the troops, triggering a gunfight in which the militants and soldiers were killed,” a source said.
The army confirmed the death of two militants and two soldiers in the encounter. Defence Spokesman Colonel N N Joshi said the encounter was still on.
A senior army officer said the area has a robust counter-infiltration grid and the infiltration was detected within metres of the LoC.
On Wednesday, the Army had killed four foreign militants in the same sector and also arrested one militant.
After interrogation, the Pakistani militant was reportedly handed over to the National Investigative Agency (NIA). He is currently being interrogated at New Delhi.
The arrested militant has been identified as Bhadur Ali, a resident of Lahore in Pakistan.
“As the melting of the snow ends on the LoC in the peak summer, the militants try to make most of the difficult terrain by sneaking into the Kashmir Valley. With summer at its peak, the militants have found different ways of entering the Valley from Kupwara to Baramulla,” the officer said.