Srinagar: Two senior Army officers, two junior ranks, an officer of the local police were marrtyred in a fierce overnight encounter in which two terrorists were killed on Sunday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
Srinagar based Defence Ministry spokesman, Colonel Rajesh Kalia confirmed the martyrdom of the five security personnel with their ranks without giving out their names.
Sources said that an Army Colonel commanding a Rashtriya Rifles (RR) battalion in the Rajwar area of Handwara tehsil, a Major, commanding a company of the same RR battalion, a Lance Naik and a rifleman in addition to an officer of the SOG of local police were martyred in the 20-hour long gunfight between holed up terrorists and the security forces in the Chanjimulla village of Handwara tehsil.
Two terrorists have also been killed in this encounter whose exact identity is being established.
Although firing has stopped at the encounter site, searches were still on in the area.
The encounter started on Saturday (May 2) after the security forces succeeded in trapping the terrorists inside the house located in the forest of Handwara.
“Based on the intelligence input that terrorists were taking the civilian inmates of a house in Changimulla, Handwara of Kupwara district hostage, a joint operation was launched by Army and JK Police,” added the Army spokesperson.
Para commandos of the army and other security personnel had started the final assault against the terrorists with the first light on Sunday morning.
The para commandos started room intervention to segregate the security personnel and the holed up terrorists inside the house.
The Commanding Officer of the 21 RR (Colonel), a Major, two soldiers deployed as personal guards of the commanding officer in addition to a police Sub-Inspector of the SOG and his guard, a constable, had entered the house at grave danger to their lives to rescue civilians and to eliminate the holed up terrorists.
The lone surviving security man among those who entered the house is the security guard of the SOG Sub-Inspector according to sources, but that awaits official confirmation.
After the security personnel entered the house they lost radio contact with the surrounding security men triggering concern about their safety.
An official confirmation from Army’s Udhampur headquartered northern command and the police headquarters is still awaited.