Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, July 23: An Army officer was among two Army men injured today in the operation that was launched yesterday by Army against a group of heavily armed militants in Tanghdar sector of North Kashmir’s Kupwara district while two bodies of the militants were recovered this afternoon.
The gun battle that started yesterday afternoon continued till late last night. There was a lull till this afternoon as weather was freak and it was raining heavily in the area and visibility was almost zero.
In the afternoon after improvement in weather, the gun battle again started and an Army officer and a soldier were injured. The injured Army personnel including the jawan who was injured yesterday have been identified as Maj Akash Ashok Tapadia (belt no. 70967A), Sepoy Balbeer Singh (belt no. 3007380P) and Sepoy Ranjeet Kumar (Belt No. 3006525H). All the injured were shifted to military hospital Drugmulla where from they were removed to Army’s 92 base hospital Srinagar for treatment.
Army recovered bodies of two militants along with two AK-47 rifles. However, search for the third body is going on.
The area is at an altitude of over 12000 feet and has huge boulders and bushes that give natural cover to the militants in the area and provide them natural hideouts.
It may be mentioned here that Army noticed the movement of at least 4 heavily armed militants near Eagle post in Tanghdar sector yesterday afternoon.
Army challenged these militants but they fired back leading to a fierce gun battle which is still continuing. Sources said that three militants were killed.
Army’s 26 Rajput was initially involved in the operation and they were later joined by the elite 4-Para.
A Srinagar based Defence spokesman said here today that an attempt of infiltration by heavily armed militants in Tanghdar Sector of frontier Kupwara division was eliminated last night by the vigilant Army personnel deployed along the Line of Control. “It resulted in the killing of two terrorists and recovery of weapons and warlike stores. The bodies of two militants have been recovered however, identification and affiliated tanzeem is yet to be carried out”, the spokesman said.
The spokesman said: “The terrorists’ movement was spotted along the Line of Control at evening hours of July 22, 2015. The robust counter infiltration grid in place immediately picked up the terrorists and kept them under constant surveillance till they reached within firing range. In the inclement weather, terrorists took shelter behind the boulders and the intermittent exchange of fire continued on July 22 and 23. The gunfight resulted in elimination of two terrorists and splinter injuries to one Army officer and a soldier who were evacuated to Army Base Hospital, Srinagar. The condition of both Army personnel is stable. Search of the area, undertaken in the afternoon on July 23, resulted in recovery of two bodies of the slain terrorists along with two AK 47 rifles, two rucksacks and other warlike stores. The operation was continuing till last reports.”
This is the eighth infiltration bid that was foiled this year by Army along LoC in Kashmir in which 18 infiltrators were killed. Army also lost three men in its fight against the infiltrators on the LoC this year.
Last year Army killed 59 militants along the LoC which is highest so far in past over a decade.
Army says over 200 heavily armed militants are waiting across the LoC for infiltration and Army has stepped up vigil so as to prevent them from infiltrating.
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