An Army jawan was killed and another seriously wounded when militants targeted them with pistol fire from point blank range as they were reportedly coming out of an ATM cabin in the highway town of Pampore, about 16 km south of here, on Saturday.
However, the Army said that the duo were part of a road-opening party shot at from close range from a shop when it was about to check an auto-rickshaw and a scooter parked in a suspicious manner on the roadside.
Meanwhile, Let. Gen. Om Prakash, the General-Officer-Commanding of Srinagar-based 15 (Chinar) Corps, said on Saturday that the Army has inputs about the large concentration of militants in launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) which, he said, indicates likelihood of increased attempts at infiltration in the future. He, however, asserted that the Army “is fully geared up and is maintaining a high level of vigil to thwart nefarious designs of the adversary.”
The Army identified the slain soldier as Deepak Singh and his injured colleague as Trilok Nath, who is battling for his life at Srinagar’s 92-Base Hospital, and said that soldiers accompanying the victims exercised restraint in dealing with the situation to avoid civilian casualties in the crowded marketplace of Kadalbal. Blaming the shooting on unidentified militants, the police said that the injured duo were quickly removed to the Pampore sub-district hospital where one of them succumbed. Lt.Gen. Prakash said, “The Army soldiers in spite of suffering casualties displayed utmost restraint and did not fire at the fleeing terrorists to avoid collateral damage to the people.” He further said, “Inimical elements are likely to fire upon security forces in busy populated areas and incite them to open fire so that it could lead to death or injuries to innocent civilians and cause collateral damage.”
Also, the Army and the local police’s counter-insurgency SOG are engaged in a series of gunbattles with militants in remote areas of Kupwara and Baramulla district close to the LoC since June 30. So far, six militants have been killed and five security personnel wounded in the clashes.
Meanwhile, a fierce firefight between militants and security forces is reported to be underway eastern Kishtwar district. Officials said that the fighting broke out when the security forces relocated to Kawaat area of Chatroo in the hilly district after receiving information that a group of three militants were hiding there.