SRINAGAR, Oct 15 (NNN-PTI) – A junior commissioned officer (JCO) of the Indian army and a trooper were killed, in a fierce gunfight with militants in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said today.
The gunfight broke out at Dera Ki Gali, in Surankote area, close to the Line of Control (LoC) in frontier Poonch district, about 185 km south-west of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Army officials believe, the group of militants in the area attacking the troops is the same that killed five troopers, including a JCO in a similar stand-off on Monday.
The two new casualties have taken the toll of Indian army troopers in the gunfight to seven, including two JCOs since Monday.
“In the ongoing gunfight in the forest area of Mendhar last night, a JCO and a trooper were wounded. Though they were immediately evacuated to health facility, they succumbed to their wounds during the night,” an army official said. “The operation in the area is underway and reinforcements have been rushed to take on militants there.”
LoC is a de facto border that divides Kashmir into India- and Pakistan-controlled parts.
There has been a surge in gunfights in the region since Monday, and eight militants have been killed in five different gunfights.
A guerrilla war is going on between militants and Indian troopers stationed in the region since 1989. Gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently in the region.
Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
