Four soldiers have been injured in an ongoing gunfight between infiltrators and security forces near the line of Control (loC) in Macchil sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Tuesday. An Army spokesman said that the encounter was going on but nothing could be said on the situation till Wednesday morning.
Police sources confirmed that the soldiers of 56 Rashtriya Rifles intercepted a group of militants at Katwara near the loC early on Tuesday morning. The soldiers tracked the suspicious movement in the forested area before a siege was laid.
The militants reportedly opened fire on the security forces triggering an encounter.
“Four soldiers sustained injuries. They have been immediately airlifted to 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar for treatment,” sources said.
A spokesman of XV Corps said that the encounter continued till late in the evening. The area has been cordoned off. “We can’t say anything (about the gunbattle) till tomorrow morning. The area is under darkness,” the spokesman told The Pioneer.
Sources said that Sepoy Nikhil and Sepoy lakashman Das have received bullet injuries. Das is reportedly in a critical condition.
The encounter triggered off at a time when Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag arrived here to oversee the security situation along the loC and the hinterland. The Valley has witnessed a spurt in militant violence in recent days. Earlier this month, two policemen and three BSF troopers were shot dead by militants in two separate attacks in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district.