Kupwara encounter: Toll climbs to seven

SRINAGAR: Bodies of three militants and a Junior Commissioned Officer(JCO) were found today during a search operation in Kupwara district of North Kashmir where an encounter broke out yesterday after army foiled an infiltration bid.

With the recovery of the four bodies, a total of seven persons have been killed in the encounter.

According to a Defence spokesman, "bodies of three militants and a JCO were recovered today while four army personnel were injured. A search operation is still going on."

Army troops guarding the Line of Control (LoC) noticed a group of militants attempting to infiltrate from across the border in Nowgam sector of Handwara yesterday. The militants opened heavy fire when challenged by the troops, triggering a gunbattle, he said.

The infiltration attempt coincided with the second-phase of polling in Jammu and Kashmir wherein a total of 18 Assembly seats, including five in Kupwara district, went to polls yesterday.

Last week, four militants were killed when an encounter broke out between the ultras and security forces in Arnia sector of Jammu region close to Indo-Pak border on November 27.

During the terror attack, in all 12 people were killed including five civilians and three army personnel.