Five security personnel including an Army Colonel and a Major lost their lives in an encounter at a village in Handwara in north Kashmir that also saw the elimination of two terrorists. As per IG Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, a top Lashkar-e Taiba commander named Haider from Pakistan has been killed in the encounter.
Army officers Col Ashutosh Sharma and Major Anuj, and Jammu and Kashmir Police Sub-Inspector Shakeel Qazi were among the deceased, as per the inputs received.
Col Sharma was leading a team to rescue civilians who had been taken hostage by the terrorists hiding in a house at the Chanjmullah area of Handwara in frontier Kupwara district of north Kashmir on Saturday, Army officials were quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The team of 21 Rashtriya Rifles had entered the house of a civilian to prevent a hostage situation when they came under attack from the terrorists who had already reached there. While the four Army personnel and the police Sub Inspector lost their lives in the encounter, the civilians trapped in the house were safely evacuated.
Sharma had been part of several successful counter-terrorism operations in the past, Army officials said.
As the hostages were being rescued, the team, which also consisted of a Lance Naik and a Rifleman, came under heavy fire which was effectively retaliated by the security personnel in the outer cordon, they said.
In the early hours of Sunday, a major offensive was launched by the security forces as there had been no contact with the Colonel or his team, the officials said.
(With inputs from agencies)