SRINAGAR: In the third incident of sniping along the frontiers in last two days, an Army man was killed in sniper fire by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.
An army official said Pakistani troops breached the border ceasefire in Sunderbani sector along the LoC in Rajouri at around 11.10 am today. He said the Pakistani troops fired towards the army positions, which was returned by the army men."A soldier Varun Kattal manning a bunker was hit by Pakistani troops sniper fire. He was evacuated to a military hospital, where he succumbed to injuries," the official said.
Varun, 21, hails from Mawa village of border district of Samba in J&K. He is survived by parents.
Defence spokesman in Jammu Lt Col Devender Anand while confirming soldier's killing said his killing won't go in vain."Our men also retaliated strongly and effectively on Pakistan army posts," he said.
It was the third sniping incident along the LoC in J&K in last two days. On Friday, an army porter was killed after being hit by Pakistani troops sniper fire in Akhnoor sector. A BSF jawan was also injured after being hit by sniper fire in Manjakote sector of Rajouri district yesterday.
The BSF jawan is undergoing treatment at a military hospital in Jammu. There has been a surge in ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC and International Border (IB) in J&K this year.
India shares the 198-km-long IB with Pakistan in the Jammu region, while the LoC, the dividing line between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK), is 740 kilometres long. At least 60 people including 32 BSF and army men and 28 civilians have been killed in these ceasefire violations.
The casualties are on the higher side compared to last three years. Meanwhile, two militants of Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in an encounter with security forces at Tikken area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district today.
The deceased militants were identified as Liaqat Munir Wani and Wajid Ul Islam, both residents of Pulwama. "An AK rifle and INSAS rifle and other incriminating materials were recovered from the encounter site," a police spokesman said. He said the INSAS rifle seized from the encounter site was the same rifle which militants had snatched from policemen at Murran, Pulwama early this year.