70 Army personnel martyred in counter-infiltration, counter-terrorism operations since 2012

NEW DELHI: As many as 70 Army personnel have been martyred in counter-infiltration and counter-terrorism operations in the militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir since 2012, Lok Sabha was informed today.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, in a written reply, said that 13 Army personnel martyred in 2012.

"This figure rose to 21 in 2013 and 27 in 2014. Till July 19 this year, nine Army personnel have been martyred in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

In another reply, Parrikar said while four Army personnel were martyred during ceasefire violations and other incidents at LoC, nine were killed during counter-infiltration incidents in 2014.

This year, two Army personnel were killed during ceasefire violations and other incidents at LoC and five during counter-infiltration incidents.

"All violations of ceasefire are taken up with Pakistani military authorities at the appropriate level through established mechanism of hotlines, flag meetings as well as weekly talks between Directorate Generals of Military Operations," he said.