Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Dec 2: At least 5 infiltrators were killed and two army personnel injured in a shootout in Nowgam sector near the Line of Control (LoC) in the frontier district of Kupwara today as five constituencies in North Kashmir witnessed heavy voter turnout in second phase of polling.
Sources said that a group of at least six heavily armed militants infiltrated through Nowgam sector, also called Tut Mari Gali sector, last night and the army noticed their movement and launched an operation against them.
The Army challenged these infiltrating militants leading to a fierce encounter which is still going on. Five militants were killed and two army personnel were injured in the gun battle so far.
Army called reinforcements after the troops established contact with the militant group who were well equipped to cross the LoC in snow. All the possible escape routes of the militants were sealed by the army and the militant group was trapped.
The gun battle was on when reports last poured in and army is after the last surviving militant of the group. Army has extended the search operation to vast area to look for any other militant group that has might have managed to infiltrate through snow.
A Defence spokesman said here that the robust counter infiltration grid of the Army scored one more success today when infiltrating militants in the Tut Mari Gali Sector were detected by the alert troops, leading to launch of an operation and elimination of three heavily armed militants.
“The effectiveness and robustness of the counter infiltration grid established by the Army all along the Line of Control was proven once again today with the elimination of three heavily armed terrorists, well equipped to infiltrate even through areas of heavy snow”, the spokesman said.
The Spokesman said: “On the night of 01/02 December, the infiltration bid in the Tut Mari Gali Sector was detected and eliminated along the Line of Control near the Shamshabari Ridge”.
“Immediately on detecting the infiltrating terrorist group, the local unit established contact with the group during the night leading to a fierce firefight. The Army immediately surrounded the group cutting off their routes of escape and in the ensuing firefight eliminated three terrorists. Three rifles and a huge quantity of warlike stores were recovered from the terrorists. The operation was continuing till last reports came in”, the spokesman added.
This is the first infiltration bid that was foiled after the snowfall along the LoC last month. The over 400 kilometre long LoC in Kashmir valley from Gulmarg to Gurez received 4-7 feet of snow last month creating a natural hurdle for infiltration. However, these infiltrators had used sophisticated equipment to infiltrate through snow.
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