SRINAGAR: Two terrorists and three Army soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), were killed in a pre-dawn fidayeen attack on an army camp in Rajouri district on Thursday.
The four brave soldiers who laid down their lives are identified as Subedar Rajendra Prasad, Rifleman Manoj Kumar, Rifleman Lakshmanan D and Rifleman Nishant Malik.
Additional director general of police Mukesh Singh said, “As reported by 11 Raj Rifles, someone tried to cross the fence of Army camp at Pargal near Budh Kanadi in the Darhal area of Rajouri district early this morning. Sentry on guard duty challenged (the terrorists) and an exchange of fire took place. Additional parties have been dispatched to the location, which is around six kilometres from the police station Darhal.”
The ADGP said that two terrorists were killed in the exchange of fire and five army personnel were injured.
“A search operation has been launched and further details are awaited,” he said.
“2 terrorists trying to sneak into a post in the dark at Pargal #Rajouri were detected and engaged by alert troops. The terrorists have been neutralised. 5 soldiers also suffered injuries and are being treated (sic),”, Army’s 16 Corps wrote on its Twitter account.
“Attackers had tried to enter the camp around 3.30 am, but the attempt was foiled and an exchange of gunfire ensued,” Army officials said.
Sources in the Army said three soldiers, one of them an officer, were killed.
On Wednesday, security forces eliminated three terrorists, including Lateef Rather, the Resistance Front (TRF) chief and one of the masterminds of targeted killings in Kashmir, in an anti-terror operation here.
Vijay Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Kashmir Zone, said that Latif Rather was involved in the killing of several innocent civilians, including the murders of Rahul Bhatt and Aamreen Bhatt.
A total of 26 persons have lost their lives in targeted killings by terrorists in Kashmir this year so far. The slain persons include seven policemen and eight civilians, of whom six belong to the minority community.