In an ongoing operation, at least 5 militants have been killed, all of them affiliated to the Lashkar-e-Taiba
In the first major operation of the year 2020 in the Valley, the Indian Army gunned down 5 militants in Kupwara district near the Line of Control (LoC) in North Kashmir. 5 soldiers were killed and several injured during the operation. The operation was launched after the Army intercepted a group of infiltrators in Keran sector last week. J&K Police has claimed that five of the infiltrators were from the Lashkar-e-Taiba. According to the defence sources, the militants were first intercepted in the Jamgund forest by the army personnel deployed on the LoC on April 1 where a brief exchange of fire took place. After that, a mass hunt was launched while sealing all the exits and vantage points. The operation, which is still ongoing, has claimed lives of at least 5 soldiers and several injured.
Defence Spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia confirmed that so far five terrorists have been gunned down. He also said that additional Alert troops have been deployed amid the bad weather and hostile terrain to hunt the remaining terrorists. Though 5 soldiers have martyred, the operation is still in progress and casualties have been evacuated. According to the Spokesperson, the operation is taking days due to the extreme weather conditions as the majority of the terrains are covered with snow. This is the second biggest operation in the Valley within the last 24 hours. On April 4, joint forces killed four terrorists in Kulgam district South Kashmir, all of them affiliated to the Hizbul Mujahideen.
