New Delhi: A Lieutenant and a jawan of the Indian Army were killed in a mysterious blast near a forward post along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Saturday.


According to officials, the blast took place in Kalal area of Nowshera sector when an army column was on patrol duty as part of measures to check infiltration of terrorists from across the border, PTI reported.


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The two Indian Army personnel were immediately evacuated to a nearby military hospital where they succumbed to their critical injuries.


The area where the explosion took place, as per the officials, is dotted with landmines planted by the Indian Army as part of the counter-infiltration arrangement.


Stating the nature of the explosion was not immediately known, the officials, however, did not rule out the possibility of the use of improvised explosive device (IED) by the terrorists to target the patrol squad.


The personnel of the White Knight Corps offered their condolences to the brave hearts Lieutenant Rishi Kumar and Sepoy Manjit Singh, who made the supreme sacrifice in line of duty.


“#GOC #WhiteKnight_IA and all ranks salute bravehearts Lt Rishi Kumar and Sep Manjit Singh, who made the supreme sacrifice in line of duty along the Line of Control in Naushera sector on 30 Oct 21 and offer deep condolences to their families.@adgpi @NorthernComd_IA,” White Knight Corps tweeted.



Earlier this month, a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and a jawan were killed in Mendhar area of Jammu’s border district of Poonch in a fierce gunfight between the militants and Indian Army troops.


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This took place days after five soldiers, including a JCO, were killed in an exchange of fire with heavily armed terrorists in a forested area at Surankote in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.