J&K: Army Colonel killed in Kupwara encounter

Srinagar: An Army Colonel has been killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district.

The Colonel succumbed to injuries sustained while battling terrorists in Kupwara district. The Commanding Officer of 41 Rashtriya Rifles Colonel Santosh, who was leading a search party, was critically injured when terrorists hiding in a dense forest area of Haji Naka opened fire, officials said.

Santosh, who was from the elite regiment of Para Commandos, was evacuated to a hospital but he succumbed to injuries, the officials said.

The operation to track down the terrorists was continuing when last reports were received, the officials said. The party of army and police came under fire when it was conducting searches as part of an operation started on November 13 to flush out terrorists hiding in the forest area on the basis of a specific information.

After the initial contact on November 13, the terrorists fled deep into the forests and the security forces continued the chase them, leading to fresh contact today, the officials said.

(With inputs from PTI)