SRINAGAR: Army on Sunday said the alert troops foiled three infiltration bids of militants along the Line of Control (LoC) in twin districts of Kupwara and Bandipora in Jammu and Kashmir by killing four militants while a policeman and a militant were killed and seven security men and civilian injured in twin encounters in border district of Poonch.
An army official said the army men noticed a group of militants trying to infiltrate into this side of Kashmir along LoC in Nowgam sector in Kupwara district in early hours today.
“The militants were signaled to stop. However, they fired from automatic weapons towards the army men. The fire was returned by the soldiers, triggering an encounter,” he said.
The official said the exchange of fire between militants and soldiers continued for more than five hours during which four militants were killed.
He said bodies of the slain militants, whose identity and affiliation was being ascertained, were recovered. “We also recovered large cache of arms and ammunition from the slain militants”.
The official said the combing operation is going on in the area. “The soldiers are conducting search operation”.
The army, according to official, has increased vigil and patrolling along the LoC to prevent militants from sneaking into Kashmir following apprehensions that militants may increase the infiltration attempts.
He said the army men also foiled two more infiltration bids in Tangdhar (Kupwara) and Gurez (Bandipora) sectors in North Kashmir.
“Both the infiltration attempts were foiled by soldiers and militants attempting infiltration were pushed back to other side of LoC,” the official said adding no loss of life or injuries were reported.
The official said combing operation in the area was going on.
Twin encounters in Poonch
A policeman and a militant were killed and seven security men and a civilian injured in twin encounters with militants in border district of Poonch in Jammu province today.
“Both the encounters started after few minutes gap. The first encounter started at 7.40 am when militants took positions in under construction Mini Secretariat building in Poonch town, close to Army’s 93 Brigade headquarters. Few minutes after the first attack, a group of militants barged into a house in Allah Pir locality in the Poonch town,” a police official said.
He said police and army men rushed to both the spots to flush out militants after receiving information about their presence.
“The militants engaged the security men in gunfights at both the places. A police constable was killed and seven security men including a police sub inspector and a civilian injured in the ongoing gunfights,” the official said.
Among the injured security men, three are policemen and four army men. The injured have been hospitalised.
Official sources said the operations at both the places were going on and additional reinforcement was rushed to both places to end the militant resistance.
They said one of the holed-up militant has been killed.