Lance Naik Sandeep Singh, killed in Kupwara encounter, was part of team that carried out 2016 surgical strikes

Lance Naik Sandeep Singh, who died on Monday during an anti-infiltration operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Tangdhar sector, was part of the Indian Army’s special forces that carried out the surgical strikes on militant bunks along the Line of Control in Pakistan in 2016, reports said. He is survived by his wife and a five-year-old child. According to reports, Sandeep Singh gunned down three militants in Kupwara in Tangdhar sector before being killed, in an operation that began on Saturday. A total of five militants were killed in the gunfight. The Lance Naik, who was from Gurdaspur district in Punjab, had headed the search party of 4 Para Commandos in Gagadhri Nar area of Kupwara after receiving tip-offs about an infiltration bid.

#ArmyCdrNC and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of L/Nk Sandeep Singh & offer deepest condolences to the family @adgpi @PIB_India @SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/DlepkUaeWn

— NORTHERN COMMAND - INDIAN ARMY (@NorthernComd_IA) September 24, 2018

On the intervening night of 28 and 29 September, the Indian Army had confirmed that it had carried out surgical strikes against “terrorist launch pads” across the LoC. The then Director General of Military Operation (DGMO), Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, had revealed that these strikes were aimed at neutralise imminent infiltration into Indian territory. The targets of this infiltration bid, Ranbir Singh had said, were in Kashmir as well as other Indian cities. It was reported that the surgical strikes were carried out in the wake of the attacks in Poonch and Uri on 11 and 18 September, days before the operation. A surgical strike is a quick and specific attack involving minimum collateral damage, aiming to neutralise the other side.