Army major, 3 soldiers and 2 militants killed during encounter in J&K’s Gurez; counter-infiltration operation underway

At least four Army jawans, including a major, were killed in a fierce gunfight along the Line of Control (LoC) in Gurez sector of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Tuesday. At least two militants were also gunned down in the operation. The bodies of two militants could be seen from a distance while two more are believed to have been killed, PTI reported. Further reinforcements were rushed to the encounter site. [caption id=“attachment_4535861” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The deceased have been identified as Major KP Rane, hawaldars Jamie Singh and Vikramjeet and rifleman Mandeep. Initial reports said a group of eight was trying to infiltrate into the country and one of them, four ran back to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. Sources said the gunfight between a group of infiltrating militants and the army erupted at around 1 am at Govind Nallah in Gurez sector of Bandipore district and the operation is still in progress. While defence sources claimed it was an infiltration bid that was foiled, Bandipora DC Shahid Choudhary told The Tribune that there was a ceasefire violation in the Gurez sector. Meanwhile, police sources in north Kashmir said cross-border firing and shelling started on the LoC near Baktoor Gurez. In July, five militants were killed in a counter-insurgency operation in the Kilora village of South Kashmir’s Shopian district. A civilian had died and two others were injured in Gunawpora in the same district when forces opened fire on protesters at the funeral of one of the slain militants. With inputs from PTI