Jammu: A major of the Indian Army was killed and a colonel injured in a fierce gun battle between the security forces and a group of four to six terrorists in Mendhar forest area of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday night.
Five other soldiers were injured in the encounter that was continuing till on Wednesday morning. Two terrorists were also killed, but the bodies were yet to be recovered.
The encounter started on Tuesday night when the troops of 37 Rashtriya Rifles led by Col. Ajay Katoch and Major Amit Phunge moved into Beri Rakh forests in Mendhar, 230 km northeast of Jammu, to trace the terrorists after locals reported suspected movements in the area.
The Colonel received a bullet injury in his neck, while the Major took the brunt of heavy firing from Ak-47 assault rifles by militants and died on the spot.
Army sources in Jammu said that the encounter was still on. More forces have been rushed to the spot to fight the terrorists and also to ensure that none of them are able to escape.
"We are not sure whether it was an inflitrating column or not. We have lost a brave officer and the Colonel is injured. Four of our soldiers are being evacuated. They are safe, " said Col. Biplab Nath, PRO Defence, Jammu.
"The operations are still on but you have to appreciate that it is a hilly area as well as forested, so the pace of the operation was according to it. At the moment we are just concentrationg on the operation. Right now, our aim is to seal off that area and effectively search the area and establish contact," Nath added.
It is suspected from their style of fighting that they were terrorists from Lashkar-e-Toiba group, the army sources said.
Comments
0 comment