An Army personnel was killed and four others, including a captain, sustained injuries as the Indian Army on Saturday foiled an attack by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) in the Kamakari sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, news agency PTI reported, citing military sources. A Pakistani intruder was also killed in the exchange of fire, they further stated.
The BAT generally comprises special forces personnel of the Pakistan Army and terrorists. "Action by the Border Action Team has been foiled by alert Indian Army troops on Saturday morning in the Kamakari sector," PTI quoted one of the sources as saying. "One Pakistani intruder has been killed," he added.
Two intruders managed to return to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) amid the intense gunfight that lasted for hours, the sources said. They said the group of three intruders hurled a grenade and opened fire on a forward post near the Kumkadi post in the Trehgam sector of the north Kashmir district.
The troops retaliated, triggering a gunfight between the two sides, the sources said, adding that five soldiers were injured in the encounter and one of them later succumbed to his injuries. They said the injured Army personnel, including a captain, were evacuated to a base hospital. The condition of one of the injured soldiers was stated to be "critical," the PTI sources said.
This encounter began in district's Kamkari area during an anti-terrorist operation. This was second such incident in three days. As per intial reports, the army launched a search operation to find the terrorists after receiving the information about possible terrorist movements in the area,
There have been several incidents of gunfights between terrorists and security forces that occurred in Jammu and Kashmir in the last two months.
Earlier this week, on July 24, a terrorist was killed in a shootout with Army personnel near the Trimukh Top in Kowut of Kupwara district. A non-commissioned officer NCO was injured during the anti-terror operation conducted jointly by the Jammu & Kashmir Police and the Indian Army.
The shootout began during a search operation by the Army in the Kowut area of Kupwara. The search had been going on for a few days. The team noticed suspicious movement in the area on Tuesday and investigated. Early on Wednesday, the security engaged in a shootout with the terrorists and gunned down one of them. The operation is still on.
In another incident that took place on July 14, Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Keran Sector. Three unidentified terrorists were killed during the anti-infiltration operation. As per the latest reports, the operation is still under progress. The security forces also recovered weapons and other war-like stores in the operation.
Earlier this month, five soliders were killed and six others were injured after terrorists ambushed an Army convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district. The attack took place in the Machedi area when terrorists opened fire on a routine patrol vehicle of the Indian Army. When the security forces retaliated, the terrorists escaped to a nearby forest area.