Five PARA SF soldiers of Indian Army sacrificed their lives while fighting terrorists in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, the first major counter-infiltration operation along the LoC this year. Also, five terrorists were killed. A fierce gunfight broke out on Saturday evening in the snowbound Ringdori forest area of Keran, 120 km from Srinagar, while the Army was looking for a group of terrorists who fled after a brief exchange of fire on April 1. The Army cordoned a 4-square km area to ensure that the terrorists did not escape towards Pakistan. Indian Army Para commandos were airdropped at strategic locations to trace them. As combing was underway, the hiding terrorists opened fire. In the ensuing gunfight, five terrorists were killed by 4 PARA SF soldiers and three soldiers were martyred. Two more soldiers were critically injured. They later succumbed to injuries.
“Alert troops, braving inclement weather and hostile terrain, have so far eliminated five terrorists attempting to infiltrate across the LoC,” defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia told the media, adding that the operation was still underway. The police claimed the slain militants were associated with Lashkar-e-Toiba. In the past 24 hours, nine terrorists have been killed in two gunfights. On Saturday, four local terrorists were killed in Kulgam district.
