5 security men killed in encounter; Pakistan resorts to heavy shelling along LoC

SRINAGAR: Five security personnel, including a CRPF officer, were killed on Friday in an encounter with militants, while a civilian died in clashes near the site in Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir, where areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts were heavily shelled by Pakistan for the eighth consecutive day.

The encounter broke out on Friday morning after the militants opened fire on the security forces during a cordon and search operation in Babagund area of Kupwara following information about presence of ultras there, officials said.

There was lull in firing several times during the day, but militants would resume firing as soon as the security forces advanced towards the house where the ultras were hiding, the officials said. After one such interval, the militants opened indiscriminate firing on the advancing team of security personnel, the officials said.


Nine security force personnel were injured in the firing by the militants, they said adding five of them succumbed to injuries. The slain personnel included a CRPF inspector and a jawan, two army men and a policeman, they said.

Clashes between a group of youngsters and security personnel took place near the encounter site, the officials said. A youth, identified as Waseem Ahmad Mir, suffered severe injuries and was rushed to a hospital where the doctors declared him ‘brought dead’, they said.

They said the operation was in progress when reports last came in.

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Friday violated the ceasefire again by shelling four sectors along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts leaving a woman injured.

Officials said Pak troops used heavy guns, including Howitzer 105 mm to target civilian areas in Poonch. Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively, he said.