Capt, 2 soldiers die in Kupwara attack

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Panzgam (Kupwara), April 27

A Captain and two soldiers were killed and five others injured when militants carried out a fidayeen attack on an Army camp in Kupwara district today.

Two of the militants were gunned down while one managed to escape from a well-fortified Army garrison during the early morning gunfight. Later in the day, the Army allegedly fired at protesters seeking bodies of the militants, killing one and injuring three others.

The spacious artillery garrison on a perch surrounded by huge mountains at Panzgam, close to the Line of Control (LoC), was stormed by militants from the rear side of the camp by cutting the barbed wire. After storming the base at the crack of dawn, the militants attempted to enter the living area of the camp. “As they sneaked in, they started running towards the living area of the units in the garrison.

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“The alert sentry fired at them and ensured they do not enter the living area. Taking advantage of the darkness, the militants started moving inwards where the Quick Reaction Team (QRT) fired from all directions, forcing them to withdraw and run towards the exit of the garrison,” said Col Saurabh Joshi, Commanding Officer of 312 Artillery, at a press briefing hours after the attack. “They were pushed out effectively and two of them were killed,” he said, adding that the operation ended within 35 minutes. Col Joshi said the third militant was injured. 

“He left his weapons and is on the run. Several teams are looking for him in the adjacent village,” he said.

He said three AK-47 rifles, nine magazines, 47 AK rounds, 50 pistol ammunition, one UBGH, three UBGL grenades, three hand grenades, two radio sets and some food items were recovered from them.

The slain were identified as Captain Ayush Yadav, 26, from Jajmau in Kanpur (UP), Subedar Bhoop Singh Gujjar, 46, from Dausa, Rajasthan, and Naik Bhoota Venkata Ramana, 38, from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

Col Joshi said the militants seemed to be foreigners, though their identity was being established. This is the first fidayeen attack on an Army base in J&K after the Nagrota attack in November last year.  

As the combing operation at the garrison was on, a group of youth and women from neighbouring villages gathered around 500 metres from the Army camp and demanded the militants’ bodies. The situation worsened around 3.30 pm when the youth hurled stones at Army vehicles. The Army opened fire on the protesters, killing a 70-year-old man and injuring three others. The civilian killing sparked fresh tension in Kupwara as clashes were reported from various places. 

70-yr-old killed as Army opens fire on protesters 

• A 70-year-old man was killed and three others were injured when the Army opened fire on a group of protesters hurling stones at Army vehicles, demanding the militants' bodies
• Eyewitnesses said they raised pro-militant and anti-India slogans