Solider, 5 militants killed in anti-infiltration ops

Three militants and a soldier were killed on Monday in an overnight encounter with security forces along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, taking the total number of ultras slain in the operation to five.

Two militants were killed in the operation on Sunday. “Three more militants have been killed today as the Army foiled an infiltration attempt along the LoC in Tangdhar sector," an Army spokesman said

He said the gun battle began on Sunday after alert troops noticed suspicious movement near the LoC. One soldier has been killed in the encounter, he said, adding the operation is in progress.

The latest encounter came just three days after five militants were killed in a similar operation by the army in the forest area of northern Bandipora district.
Beating the snow

Army sources said that militants from across the LoC were making desperate attempts to ensure maximum infiltration before the traditional routes close due to snow. “Army expects infiltration and coming months would be tough from the security point of view,” they said.

Meanwhile, General-officer-Commanding (GoC) of Army's Srinagar-based 15-Corps, Lt General A K Bhatt, and Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh visited frontier Kupwara to review the security situation along the LoC.

A police spokesperson said the GoC and the DGP held a joint security review meeting in the district with senior officers of Army, BSF, CRPF and Police.