Srinagar, July 31
Two Army personnel, including a Colonel, were killed while foiling a major infiltration bid killing at least three militants along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Baramulla district since last night. Elsewhere, at least three persons, including one militant, were killed and six others injured in separate incidents in the Kashmir valley since yesterday.
A defence spokesman here said the militants on being detected at Zorawar Batnalla near Uri, failed to escape towards the Pakistani side of the LoC. The troops occupied dominating positions and prevented the infiltrated militants to escape, he added.
In a point-blank face-to-face exchange of heavy volume of fire, Col Vasanth V, Lance Naik Bachav Shahkant Ganapat and Lance Havildar Ramanna RB were injured and three to four militants were believed to be killed, the spokesman said.
Col Vasanth V and Lance Naik Bachav Shahkant Ganapat later succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
Col Vasanth V, CO 9 Maratha LI, along with reinforcements, rushed to the site to personally supervise the operation and surrounded the militants in a difficult and thickly wooded forest area. Heavy firefight ensued in which Colonel Vasanth personally flushed out
militants who got entrapped as all their escape routes had been blocked. The entrapped militants, believed to be three to four, were killed in the encounter that ensued. The operation was in progress till the last reports came in.
An unidentified militant was killed in an encounter with security forces in the Monabal area of Kralgund in Kupwara district early this morning, the police here said.
Two teenaged brothers were killed and six others injured when their vehicle on way from Jammu to Srinagar collided with a tree after suspected militants lobbed an explosive device towards it at Chursoo on the highway about 40 km south of here yesterday.
Those killed were identified as Monu, 12, and Bunty, 14, sons of Ramji Kumar from Bihar.
The driver of the vehicle was among those injured, who have been hospitalised.
