Army Colonel killed, soldier and J&K policeman injured in firefight with militants near LoC

Army and police personnel were carrying out searches as part of an operation

Srinagar

: An Army colonel was killed and two other security personnel were critically injured in a fierce gun battle with Islamic militants raging in a remote village of Jammu and Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara since Monday evening.

Police and Army sources here said that the fighting started in Manigah village of Haihama area close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district after the soldiers of Army’s 41 Rashtriya Rifles along with Para commandos moved in to intercept a group of militants believed to be Lashkar-e-Tayyaba cadres.

On seeing the troops zeroing in on them, the militants opened a heavy volume of gunfire at them. With that and while taking advantage of darkness, the militants escaped into nearby Behak forest area, the sources said adding that soon reinforcements were rushed in and a fierce encounter was underway in the area since Tuesday morning.

In their indiscriminate firing, two soldiers including the company commander of 41 Rashtriya Rifles identified as Colonel Santosh Mahadik and Majnoon Ahmed of 160 Territorial Army who was attached with 41 Rashtriya Rifles and a policeman of J&K police’s Special Operations Group were critically injured, the sources.

The injured soldiers and policemen were immediately evacuated to Srinagar’s 92 Army Base Hospital where Colonel Santosh died soon.

Meanwhile, the fighting between the security forces and the militants believed to be four or five in number and who may have sneaked in Jammu and Kashmir from PoK recently has intensified, the sources said.

Army had launched a massive operation against militants in the area on Friday, the sources added.