• Two soldiers injured; Op underway
• Arms, ammunition recovered: Army
• Army personnel crossed the LoC & fired on a forward Army post
Srinagar, July 27: In an ongoing encounter, Army Jawan, a Pakistani intruder were killed, and two other soldiers were also injured in a gunfight between terrorists and security forces in the Machil sector of Kupwara district on Saturday. The injured soldiers have been evacuated to Srinagar, and the operation against the terrorists is underway.
PRO (Defence), Srinagar, Lt. Col MK Sahu said that on Saturday early morning taking advantage of bad weather and poor visibility along Line of Control in Machhal Sector, a group of two to three armed personnel crossed the LC and fired on a forward Army post from close proximity.
“Alert troops responded vigorously and in the ensuing exchange of fire one Pakistani intruder has been killed alongwith recovery of weapons, ammunition and war like stores. Identification and affiliation of this Pakistani National is being ascertained,” he said.
Lt. Col Sahu said that during this intense fire exchange, two of our brave soldiers also suffered some grave injuries and were hence immediately evacuated to the Base Hospital at Srinagar.
“Unfortunately, one of these bravehearts succumbed to his injuries. The other brave is responding well to treatment and care and is presently stable,” he said.
Lt. Col Sahu said that in the past too, similar attempts by infiltrators, actively aided and abetted by Pakistani Army have exploited thick foliage and poor visibility conditions but have always, as today, been successfully thwarted and disrupted.
“Indian Army is firm in its resolve and commitment to maintain the sanctity of the Line of Control and defeat the nefarious and inimical designs of the Pakistan Army,” he added.
Another Army officer told Rising Kashmir that during the initial burst of fire from the terrorists, three soldiers were injured. The men were immediately evacuated and shifted to hospital. One among the three succumbed while other two injured soldiers are undergoing treatment at Army’s 92 Base hospital in Srinagar.
The suspected infiltration and gunfight came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Kargil, warned Pakistan that their “nefarious designs will never succeed” and the “enemy will be given a forceful response”.
This is the fourth encounter in Kupwara in the last one month.
Earlier on Wednesday, a terrorist was killed and non-commissioned officer (NCO) was injured during an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in the Kupwara district.
In a post on X, the Army said the exchange was triggered after it launched a joint search operation along with Jammu and Kashmir Police based on a specific input regarding the presence of terrorists on Tuesday.
Prior to this, the army foiled an infiltration bid in Kupwara’s Keran sector and killed two terrorists, while on July 14, three terrorists were killed as security forces foiled another infiltration bid in Keran.
Earlier this week, chief of army staff General Upendra Dwivedi visited the Line of Control in the Kupwara district, days after back-to-back gunfights in the area.
During his visit to the forward posts, Dwivedi reviewed the security situation, interacted with troopers and the officers deployed on the LoC and praised them for meeting security challenges.
