Srinagar: Eight militants and a policeman
were killed and three security personnel injured in two
separate gunfights as army today foiled a major infiltration
bid in Macchil sector of Kashmir Valley, defence sources said.
The infiltration bid by a group of heavily-armed
militants was scuttled at Maidan Behak-Ringmala in Macchil
sector near the Line of Control, 125 kms from here, in Kupwara
district of north Kashmir, this morning.
Army troops launched a counter-infiltration operation in
the area after getting information about a group of ultras
trying to sneak into this side of the LoC, they said.
The militants were challenged by the troops and asked to
surrender. However, the ultras opened fire resulting in
exchange of fire between the two sides that left five
militants dead.
A cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the
spot, the sources said, adding army troops were sifting
through the forests to look for any remnants of the
infiltrating column.
In another anti-militancy operation, three militants and
a policeman were killed in an encounter in a forest area in
Ganderbal district of the Valley, the sources said.
The gunbattle broke out yesterday at Chak-Akhal, 45 kms
from here, when security forces launched a search operation to
track down hiding militants.
They said three militants were killed in the encounter in
which a policeman also laid down his life.
Three other security personnel have been injured since
last evening in the operation.
The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants
could not be ascertained immediately, they added.
According to army, more than 400 militants are waiting
on the other side of LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to
infiltrate into the Valley before the onset of the winter.
-PTI
