Four security forces personnel, including an Army officer, and three militants were killed near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Sunday, in a major operation to push back a large group of infiltrators.
According to the Army, contact with the batch of infiltrators, attempting to sneak in from Kupwara’s Machil Sector, was established around 1 a.m. on Sunday.
Suspicious movement
“A Border Security Forces (BSF) patrol noticed a suspicious movement near the anti-infiltration obstacle system (AIOS) near a fence, about 3.5 km away from the LoC. A firefight ensued in which one terrorist was killed. A BSF jawan was also killed in action,” Srinagar-based Army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.
The gunfight stopped at 4 a.m., as more troops of the Army from two flanks of the mountain range were rushed to the area for sanitisation. The movement of other terrorists was tracked by surveillance devices.
“A second contact was established at 10:20 a.m., when heavy fire was drawn by our own search parties approximately 1.5 km from the LoC. In the ensuing firefight, two more terrorists were killed. Our own troops suffered three casualties and two more were injured. The injured were evacuated to a hospital,” Mr. Kalia said.
The Army said it had recovered one AK-47 assault rifle and two bags from one of the slain militants. The search operation continued till late Sunday evening.
A BSF spokesman said the remaining militants may have managed to hide in the undulating terrain. “At the same time, Pakistan posts started ceasefire violations in support of the infiltrating militants,” the spokesman said.
Sources in the security agencies said Sunday’s incident was a major infiltration bid. “There are apprehensions that many may be still hiding in the area and many might have returned (to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir),” official sources said.
