An officer is among two Armymen injured on Sunday in two operations under way against militants in the frontier district of Kupwara in north Kashmir.
A lieutenant colonel and a soldier were hit by bullets fired by an on-the-run group of militants hiding in the dense Mangah forest range in Kupwara, over 90 km from Srinagar.
The militant group, believed to be active in the forest range since October 31, had killed Colonel Santosh Mahadik on November 17. An intermittent exchange of fire between the security forces and the militants is on since November 13.
According to officials, the Army’s 41 Rashtriya Rifles and commandos from 4 para and 9 para were combing the area on Sunday when they came under fire. “The fleeing militants were spotted in the afternoon at Haji Naka in Manigah, sparking a fierce encounter,” said the official. Two soldiers were injured in the exchange of fire and were shifted to Baramulla hospital.
In a separate operation in Handwara area in the district, security forces spotted another group of 5 or 6 militants on Saturday night. There was a fierce exchange of fire. Reinforcements have been rushed to the area. “The operation is on,” said a police official.
