SRINAGAR: An Army jawan and two militants were on Thursday killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s northern Bandipore district forest. The officials said an operation was launched against the militants in Bandipore’s Raynar forest area after the militants attacked an Army patrol party in nearby Panar area last week. Two soldiers had sustained injuries in brief encounter after the attack.
After the incident, the Army reinforcement along with J&K police’s counterinsurgency Special Operations Group and central paramilitary forces launched a massive search operation in the area. On Wednesday, contact was established with the militants and early Thursday two militants and an Army jawan were killed in the encounter, police sources said.
Confirming it, defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said, “Two terrorists have been killed so far. Their identities and the group affiliation are being ascertained. We have lost one of our jawans during the encounter.” He also added the bodies of the slain militants along with two AK assault rifle and ammunition have been retrieved from the area.
The spokesman said that the jawan who laid down his life while fighting militants had received a grievous bullet wound during fighting on Thursday. He was rushed to the military hospital but soon succumbed to injuries. Sources said that the slain militant was part of a large group of infiltrators who sneaked into J&K after breaching the fence at the LoC near Bagtore area of Gurez sector last week. By DC
