2 Armymen, 2 ultras killed in Kupwara

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 30

Two soldiers were killed and another was injured as they foiled an infiltration bid near the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowgam sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.  Two militants were also killed in the gunbattle, the second in the area in the past three days. 

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 “When challenged, they resorted to indiscriminate firing. A fierce gunfight followed in which two jawans — Ashish Choudhary and Babloo Singh of 18 Jat Regiment — were killed. One jawan was injured,” defence spokesman Col NN Joshi said. He said the operation was underway and the Army was combing the thick forest. 

Sources said the Army had pressed choppers into service to hunt for any more militants hiding in the area. Besides ammunition, food items had been recovered.

There have been Intelligence inputs that owing to the civil unrest in Kashmir in the past three weeks, Pakistan and militants’ handlers are trying to push more men into Kashmir.  

 Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh, during his recent visit, had asked the soldiers to remain vigilant against  infiltration attempts. Official figures show that against the total figure of 35 last year, 54 militants were able to infiltrate into Kashmir in the first half of 2016. And this may be the reason for the increase in violence in the Valley.

Meanwhile, barring parts of Srinagar, Anantnag and Pampore towns, curfew was today lifted in Kashmir even as life remained disrupted  because of the strike called by separatists.

Far away, the United States, while expressing concern over the tension in the Valley, called on “all sides” to make efforts for lasting peace.