Nowgam toll mounts to seven

Two more militants dead, another soldier martyred

Srinagar: In the ongoing encounter in north Kashmir's Nowgam sector, the death toll of terrorists and soldiers have gone up.
The gunbattle, which erupted late on Saturday, led to the death of two militants and two army jawans. The numbers went up today with the security forces neutralising two more terrorists, whereas, another Indian soldier was martyred.
Four militants were killed in a fierce encounter that began along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Naugam sector in north Kashmir yesterday in which three Army jawans also lost their lives.
The gun battle had ensued when alert Army jawans had foiled an infiltration bid by the militants.
"Two more terrorists were killed today while another soldier attained martyrdom," an Army official said. Overall, the number of militants killed in the encounter had risen to four, while three soldiers attained martyrdom in the operation, he said.
The encounter erupted yesterday after a group of militants attempted to infiltrate in the Indian territory by crossing the line of control in Nowgam sector. However, the cross-border militants were thwarted by the Indian troops, gunning down two among them.
The counter-terror operation had crossed nearly 20 hours by the time this report was first published. The encounter is in its final stages. However, the exact number of terrorists holed up in Nowgam is yet to be confirmed.
The infiltration bid was reported a day after Defence Minister Arun Jaitley visited the restive parts of Kashmir Valley, along with Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat. Jaitley interacted with the border troops personnel posted in North Kashmir's Uri sector.
The fresh infiltration attempt from Pakistan comes amid Islamabad's continued defiance of supporting anti-India jihad outfits attempting to sneak into the Kashmir Valley. Pakistan has also denied creating turbulence at border using proxy elements.
The friction at LoC escalated earlier in the month, after two Indian jawans - Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh Head BSF Constable Prem Sagar were mutilated by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT).
Over the past couple of weeks, increases instances of ceasefire violations were recorded. In the cross-border firing on May 12, 9 civilians were injured Nowshera sector, whereas, 2 were killed.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh has expressed anguish over the death of Army soldiers who attained martyrdom while foiling infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowgam sector of north Kashmir.
Dr. Singh expressed condolences and sympathies with the family of the soldiers who sacrificed their life for the nation. He also prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls.