Kupwara encounter: 3 soldiers, 2 cops killed; 5 militants shot dead

Srinagar, March 21

The nearly 48-hour gun battle in the dense Kupwara forest in north Kashmir ended on Wednesday, killing five security personnel—three Army jawans and two policemen—and five militants, police said.

The gun battle at Kupwara’s Halmatpora area—at least 8 km from the Line of Control (LoC)—began when a joint team of police, Army, the Territorial Army (TA) and the CRPF intercepted some militants and engaged them on Tuesday afternoon.

The militants had crossed two ridges of the Shamsabari mountain range and were nearly 8 km into the Indian territory before they were spotted. Officials said they were headed into Kupwara town, and were hiding inside a mosque when some policemen spotted them. The militants then tried running into the forest nearby, but were fired at by security forces.  

Four militants were killed on Tuesday, and a fifth, who had found higher ground to hide, continued firing at the security forces until he was killed on Wednesday.

The five are believed to be all foreigners, part of a group that had just infiltrated the LoC.

Two policemen Deepak Thusoo and SPO Mohd Yousuf, two army personnel Sepoy Ashraf Rather of 160 TA and Naik Ranjeet Kholka of 5 Bihar were killed, a police spokesman said.

SPO Javaid Ahmad was wounded in the firing, and was taken to a hospital. His condition is stable, the spokesman said.

"Owing to the thick vegetation and low visibility, the security forces are mopping the area with due caution," the spokesman said.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti paid tributes to the security forces' personnel killed in the encounter. PTI