Srinagar: Three Indian Army soldiers and a Border Security Force trooper were killed while neutralising three terrorists during a major gun battle near the LoC in Kupwara district as they foiled an infiltration bid from across the border in Jammu and Kashmir.
"The infiltration was attempted in the Machil sector on Saturday night. The operation is ongoing," the army said.
Army in a statement on Sunday said that during Saturday night a BSF patrol noticed suspicious movement near the Anti-Infiltration Obstacle System (AIOS) of the LoC Fence, about 3.5 km from the LoC in the general area of Machil sector.
A firefight ensued in which one terrorist was killed. A BSF soldier was killed in action. Firefight stopped at 4 a.m.
An army spokesman in Srinagar, Col Rajesh Kalia said that security forces have suffered six casualties in the ongoing operations. He added that one AK-47 rifle and two bags were recovered from the site while the joint search operation by the army was underway.
"More troops were rushed to the area. The terrorist movement was tracked by surveillance devices. Contact was re-established at 10.20 a.m. when the heavy fire was drawn by Indian search parties approximately 1.5 km from the LoC," the army said.
"Suspicious movement of unidentified persons detected by own patrolling party near LC fence at Machil Sector (in Kupwara district of north Kashmir) on night 7-8 November at 0100 hours," the spokesman informed.
In the ensuing gunfight, two more terrorists were killed along with three soldiers who laid down their lives while two others were injured.
"Injured soldiers have been evacuated. Operations were still underway," the army said.
With inputs from agencies
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