A Rashtriya Rifles soldier died and two others were wounded when an ambush party mistook a column of patrolling soldiers as uniformed militants in south Kashmir’s sensitive Tral pocket late on Tuesday evening. The two parties belonged to same Army camp but lack of coordination during the pitch dark hours led to armed confrontation in an area where militants of Hizbul Mujahideen are active in a sizeable number.
Police said that a party of 42 RR belonging to Kanjinag camp had laid an ambush at Dangerpora village inside apple orchards suspecting movement of militants through the area. At around 8.50 pm, another column of the same camp patrolled through the village near Noorpora. The soldiers on ambush duty mistook the advancing column as militants and opened fire. The exchange of fire continued for several minutes before the soldiers realised their misunderstanding.
Superintendent of Police, Awantipora, Muhammad Irshad confirmed that a soldier died on the spot while two others were wounded. They have been shifted to 92 Base Hospital for treatment.
Militants active in Tral area have recently uploaded their pictures and videos on social networking sites in which they are donning Army fatigues and brandish automatic weapons. They are led by Burhan Wani, who has become icon of the newest wave of armed insurgency in Kashmir. Security forces say the militants are using websites to lure more youngsters to their fold. They say that effective measures are being taken to minimise militants’ influence on the teenagers.