M A I N   N E W S

3 Army men killed, 512 kg RDX seized

Srinagar, November 15
At least three Army personnel were killed and a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) was critically injured when militants attacked them at Manasbal, about 30 km from here, in north Kashmir early this morning.

Elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir, a soldier and a militant were among seven persons killed and three others injured, while the security forces averted a major tragedy with the detection of an improvised explosive device (IED) in Poonch district and a militant surrendered during the past 24 hours.

Official sources said troops of 13 Rashtriya Rifles at Manasbal returned the militant fire and lost three men in the 10-minute encounter.

The militants escaped, but a massive hunt had been launched to nab them.

A powerful IED kept under a culvert at Wadipora Handwara village in Kupwara district went off at around 9.40 a.m. today when an Army convoy was patrolling the area. However, no one sustained injuries.

The place has been cordoned off and a hunt launched to nab those responsible.

Panic gripped that Lal Chowk area this afternoon when the militants lobbed a grenade at a BSF picket. However, the explosive was defused by the security forces.

The security forces recovered a large cache of arms and explosives, including 512 kg of RDX, in Kupwara district last evening.

They seized 512 kg of RDX, seven detonators, 14 IEDs nine RPG rockets bombs, a 107 mm rocket, 39 grenades, two AK rifles, six rockets and 512 rounds of ammunition. The RDX was enough to make more than 52 powerful bombs.

At least three persons, including two BSF personnel, were injured when the militants lobbed a grenade on a picket at Babdamb last night.

They also gunned down an alleged informer, Nissar Ahmad Khan, at Batapora Tangmarg in Baramula district last night while Mohammad Ramzan, who was injured in the recent Pulwama shootout, succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

The security forces averted a tragedy when they detected and defused an IED planted by the militants at Mandi town in Poonch district.

An official spokesperson said Shamas-ud-din Teli, who was shot at by the militants at Aga Hamam in the old city yesterday, died in hospital this morning. One person was shot dead in his house at Anantnag.

An encounter took place between the militants and the security forces at Manda in Doda district of the Jammu region this morning in which a militant of the Harkat-ul-Jehad-Islami was killed. A security personnel also lost his life while another was injured.

One house was also gutted in the shootout, he said and added an AK rifle, a magazine and 12 rounds were recovered from the slain militant.

The militants shot Abdul Latief at Sigdi Bhata and also attacked an SOG post at Neel Jari last night.

One militant surrendered along with arms and ammunition at Nowgam in Anantnag last night. UNI