| Militant, soldier killed in Kupwara | | |  S Tahir-ul Haq
Early Times Report
KUPWARA, June 15: One militant and a soldier were killed today, while as four troops have been injured in an ongoing gun battle that erupted after the Army tried to foil an infiltration bid by militants in the Machil sector near Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district of north Kashmir.
A senior police official told Early Times that, "the encounter began on Tuesday morning when the soldiers of 56 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) manning the Line of Control (LoC) intercepted a group of 3-4 heavily armed militant in Machil sector of this district.
"After being challenged, the suspected militants opened fire on the forces triggering off an encounter, after which two soldiers Sepoy Nikhil and Sepoy Lakashman Das were injured yesterday, the official said.
He said that, "Out of five, one solider of 56 RR Sepoy Lakishman Das has succumbed to his injuries in Army Hospital Srinagar, while as four others are stable till the last reports came in.
"Soon after the gun battle, the additional reinforcement of Para-troopers has been rushed to the area and joined the operation to neutralize the hiding militants from the dense forests at the earliest, the official said.
The official further said that, "Today morning a joint team of Para-commandos and 56 RR launched the search operation and recovered a militant's body from the dense forests whose identification was not ascertained yet.
However reliable sources said that, besides Para-commandos, army used sniffer dogs and choppers were also pressed into service to locate a group of militants who are believed to be hiding inside the dense forests.
If sources are to be believed they said that, "Infiltration bid by the militants across the LoC have increased this year, at least 4-5 dozens of militants have crossed the border over the past few months.
Meanwhile defence spokesperson told Early Times that, one militant has been killed, one solider also succumbed to his injuries while as four others are stable at the moment.
"One AK-47 rifle and other war like store have been recovered from the site of encounter, army has intensified the search operation in the dense forests, and operation is underway till the last reports came in, Army Spokesperson added. |
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