United News of India
Srinagar, May 3: Five security force personnel, including a Colonel and a Major, were killed while two militants were gunned down in an encounter at Handwara in the frontier Kashmir district of Kupwara.
Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia told UNI that based on the intelligence input that militants were taking the civilian inmates of a house hostage at Chanjmullah in Handwara on Saturday evening, a joint operation was launched by Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K police, Army and CRPF at Chanjmullah in Handwara on Saturday evening.
He said a team comprising of five Army and a J&K Police personnel entered the target area occupied by the militants to evacuate the civilians. “As the hostages were being rescued, the team came under heavy firing, which was effectively retaliated by security force personnel,” he said.
He said the team of Army and J&K Police successfully extricated the civilians.
However, he said the team of five security forces personnel comprising of two Army officers, two Army soldiers and one J&K Police Sub Inspector (SI) were slain during the operation,” he said, adding two militants were also killed in the exchange of fire.
Official sources said that the slain personnel have been identified as Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh, Lance Naik Dinesh, all from 21 Rashtriya Rifles, and SI Shakeel Qazi.
