Two militants killed four soldiers and injured one in an attack on an army base on Thursday, 11 August, 25 km off Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir. Both the militants were later gunned down.
"Both the terrorists have been killed while three (of our) own troops have lost their lives. The operations are in progress," Indian Army officials were quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The militants had attempted to enter an army camp in Rajouri with the suspected intention of carrying out a suicide attack, which led to a gunfight.
Subedar Rajendra Prasad, Rifleman Manoj Kumar, and Rifleman Lakshmanan D were killed in the fight against the two militants.
Rifleman Nishant Malik from the White Knight Corps, who was injured during the attack, succumbed to injuries later during the day.
The Additional Directorate General of Public Information (Indian Army) subsequently tweeted: "Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande and All Ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of Rifleman Nishant Malik, who laid down his life in the line of duty in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir and offer deepest condolences to the bereaved family."
Bama Priya, Rifleman Lakshmanan's sister, was quoted by ANI as saying, "Proud that my brother sacrificed his life for the country but we cannot bear his loss. Our family depended on his income."
She added, "My mother can't hear & dad can't walk. The government must provide a government job to our brother."
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh stated, "Someone tried to cross the fence of Army camp at Pargal. Sentry challenged and exchange of fire took place," .
Meanwhile, the area has been cordoned off and additional troops have been deployed.
This attack comes days before Independence Day celebrations, due to which security has been beefed up across the country.
Security Forces Recover Rifles, Pistols From Encounter Site Where 3 LeT Terrorists Were Killed
On Thursday, police said they recovered two AK series rifles, two pistols, and other warlike weapons from the encounter site where three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, including Lateef Rather who was involved in the murder of Kashmir Pandit Rahul Bhat and artist Amreen Bhat, were killed in an encounter at Budgam on Wednesday.
"Major operation carried out on August 10 in which a module of LeT was neutralized. This module was led by Lateef Rather, who was a member of LeT for past 2 decades & was involved in major activities including killing of police and SF personnel," news agency ANI quoted Brigadier VJS Birdi as saying.
"More recently, he was involved in terror activities with Saqib Ahmad Khan who too was killed in this operation. He led killing of Sameer Ahmad, sarpanch of Khonmoh, Rahul Bhat and Amreen Bhat and killing of non-locals at brick kiln in Chadoora," he said, adding that the group was planning a major attack in the run-up to Independence Day.
"On 10 August, based on input from J&K police, Rashtriya rifles & police launched an operation against them. They were neutralized with zero casualties," he further said.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
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