Three Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants and a civilian working with the Army were killed in north Kashmir’s Tangdhar pocket as the Army repulsed a suicide attack on Wednesday morning. Two soldiers, including an officer were wounded in the attack while an oil depot caught fire during the exchange of gunfire, damaging some structures and parked vehicles.
“Three militants have been killed in the gunfight so far and three AK rifles were recovered from the site,” lieutenant Colonel NN Joshi, Defence Ministry spokesman said, add-ing the operation was in prog-ress to “fully sanitise the area”.
“The terrorists attacked the Army camp in the early hours firing indiscriminately. They were effectively intercepted by the Army’s Quick Reaction Teams which hemmed the terrorists in a cordon, thus preventing their escape. In the ensuing gunfight, three terrorists were killed,” Joshi said.
A local civilian, who was working as a generator operator inside the camp, was also killed in the gunfight, the spokesman added.
locals said they saw huge flames on the Kalsuri ridge shortly after gunshots were heard in the area. Sources said heavily-armed militants carrying Under-Barrel Grenade launchers (UBGls) and automatic weapons attempted to enter the Army post of 3/1 GR located close to the line of Control (loC). In the initial bout of fire, a Junior Commissioned Officer was wounded. He was later evacuated to the Army hospital in an unconscious state and stabilized after treatment.
Sources said Deputy Commander of the 104 Infantry Brigade had a narrow escape in the raging gunbattle when a bullet grazed his ear. Source said that militants fired the first salvo at around 6: 15 am when most of the soldiers in the camp were asleep. There was a lull for around two hours and then the gunfight resumed again after 8 am.
Police said it was unclear whether the attackers had sneaked into the area recently or were hiding in the forested area for some time. “We will investigate this aspect”, SP Kupwara Ajaz Ahmad said.
This is the second attack this year in Tangdhar sector. On May 31, four militants were killed shortly after they crossed the loC in Bakhiyan Village.
Commander of Srinagar-based XV Corps lieutenant-General SK Dua had said on Tuesday that around 60 militants were active in north Kashmir area. The Tangdhar sector is one of the highly sensitive areas, which has been used as a major infiltration route in the past.
Tangdhar sector is close to the loC in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kupwara district and has been used as an important infiltration route by militants in the past. The Army says several launch pads of militants in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir were active in the loC region across Tangdhar area.