Major infiltration bid foiled; five militants killed, 5 jawans martyred in north Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Five soldiers including a JCO from army’s elite para force attained martyrdom and as many militants were killed in a fierce gun battle between the security forces and a terrorist group that had infiltrated from across the Line of Control in Keran sector of north Kashmir.
The terrorists are believed to have entered the Indian territory from Shamsabari range and were hiding in 'Gujjar Dhok' (temporary shelter for nomads) in the Poswal area of the Keran sector in Kupwara district, officials said.
The terrorists were spotted by the security forces first on Wednesday when the soldiers manning the fence engaged them in a brief exchange of gunfire. However, after four days of lull, the contact was established with the terrorists on the intervening night of Saturday-Sunday.
“In ongoing anti-infiltration operation in Keran Sector of north Kashmir, alert troops braving inclement weather and hostile terrain have so far eliminated five militants attempting to infiltrate across the Line of Control (LoC) taking advantage of bad weather,” Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said.
On Sunday afternoon, Col Kalia said that three Army personnel had fallen to the bullets of the militants in the higher reaches of Keran.
However, later in the evening, the officials said that the number of soldiers killed in the gun battle was five and an equal number of terrorists had been killed in the operation which had been going since the intervening night of April 3 and 4.
“While one of the soldiers attained martyrdom during the encounter, two others succumbed to critical injuries later on. Two more soldiers—one among them a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO)-- succumbed to their injuries at Badamibagh Army Hospital where they were removed from difficult terrains amid hostile weather conditions in Kupwara,” they said.
They identified the martyred soldiers as Para trooper Bal Krishan (Belt number 13633013P) and Subedar Sanjeev Kumar (JC413798Y) of Himachal Pradesh, Para Trooper Amit Kumar (4093303X) and Haveldar Davendra Singh (13625231Y) of Uttrakhand, and Chhatrapal Singh (1487156H)of Rajasthan.
“The slain militants were infiltrators and that the search operation was still going on,” they said.
Police sources said that bodies of the militants were so far not handed over by the army to police.
“The army informed us that bodies could not be recovered so far due to difficult terrain and inclement weather,” a police officer informed.
On fourth day of the operation on Saturday evening, the army rushed elite para troopers to Rangdoori, Guguldara and Teen Behak area of Jumgund. Sources said that firing continued throughout the night, reaching at peak wee hours of Sunday.
The operation was launched initially by army’s 8 JAT after intercepting movement a group of militants on Wednesday.
The searches continued along Awaoora, Kumkadi, Zurhuma, Safawali, Batpora, Haihama areas by the joint team of army’s 41 RR, 57 RR, 160 TA and SOG Kupwara.
With this gunfight, the security forces have killed nine militants in past 24 hours.
Earlier on Saturday, four militants belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist outfit who were responsible for three civilian killings in Kulgam and Anantnag districts earlier this week, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam.