Army Major, 3 soldiers dead as infiltration bid foiled at LoC

Majid Jahangir
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, August 7

At least four Army men, including a Major, were killed in a fierce gunfight along the Line of Control in Gurez sector of north Kashmir's Bandipora district on Tuesday.

Sources say two militants have also been killed. 

The four slain soldiers were identified as Major Kaustubh Prakash Kumar Rane of Thane in Maharashtra, Grenadier Vikramjeet of Ambala in Haryana, Rifleman Mandeep Singh Rawat of Kotdwar in Uttarakhand and Rifleman Hameer Singh of Dunda in Uttarakhand. 

A massive counter-infiltration operation is under way in the district along the LoC.

Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said the gunfight between a group of infiltrating militants and the Army erupted at around 1 am in the sector, over 180 km from here. They said the operation is still in progress.

“As they were challenged, six to eight militants opened fire triggering an intense gunfight. So far, four Army men, including a Major, have been killed. Two militants have also been gunned down,” Col Rajesh Kalia said.

The bodies of the militants are yet to be retrieved. He said there is a possibility that a few of the militants may have gone back to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, adding that the counter-infiltration operation is still going on.

While defence sources claimed it was an infiltration bid that was foiled, Bandipora DC Shahid Choudhary said there was a ceasefire violation in the Gurez sector.

Police sources in north Kashmir said cross-border firing and shelling started on the LoC near Baktoor Gurez.