Two Army soldiers killed in gunfight with Pakistani infiltrators along LoC in J&K

The two soldiers were involved in a cordon and search operation in the Nowshera sector when the Pakistani infiltrators opened fire on them.

SRINAGAR: Two Indian Army soldiers were killed in a gunfight with Pakistani-backed infiltrators along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Wednesday. The names of the martyrs are Naik Sawant Sandip Raghunath, 29, from Munde village of Satara district in Maharashtra and Rifleman Arjun Thapa Magar, 25, of Rip village from Gorkha in Nepal.

According to initial reports, the two soldiers were involved in a Cordon and Search Operation in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri when the Pakistani infiltrators opened fire on them. 

The search operation was launched following information about the movement of suspected terrorists, said reports. A contact was established with the infiltrators in the forest who retaliated with gunfire injuring the two army jawans, who later succumbed to their injuries.

The incident evoked a strong response from the Indian Army and firing from both sides is currently underway. Nowshera is close to the Line of Control (LoC) and has remained a hotbed of militancy in the past.

The gunfight erupted a day after newly-appointed Indian Army Chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane warned Pakistan that a "new normal" in India’s response mechanism to cross-border terrorism has already been displayed.

Naravane had warned Pakistan on Tuesday that India reserves the right to "preemptively strike" at sources of terror and asserted that a "new normal" in the country's response mechanism to acts of cross-border terrorism has already been "emphatically" displayed.

Hours before taking charge, Gen Naravane also gave a detailed brief on India's security challenges, including combating cross-border terrorism. He said a strategy of "resolute punitive response" was put in place to deal with Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, noting that the policy of "zero tolerance" will continue to drive counter-terror measures.

"If Pakistan does not stop its policy of state-sponsored terrorism, we reserve the right to preemptively strike at the sources of the terror threat and this intent has adequately been demonstrated in our response during surgical strikes and Balakot operation," the Army Chief said.

On Tuesday, J&K Director General of Police Dilbag Singh had said that there are 250 militants active in the state, of which 100 are foreigners and the rest are locals.