Srinagar: An Indian Army soldier was killed and at least four more soldiers, including an officer, were injured when suspected militants attacked an Indian Army post along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Saturday, July 27, reports said.
A ‘Pakistani person’ has also been killed in the shooting, the Army said in a post on X. Some reports suggested that the special forces of Pakistan’s ‘Border Action Team’ were involved in Saturday’s attack. However, the Army has not released any details about the suspects.
A senior police officer said the shooting broke out at around 2.15 am on Saturday in Kamkari forest when a group of heavily armed militants attacked an army post located in the Macchil sector in the heights of Kupwara district which has recorded a sharp untick in infiltration by militants in recent weeks.
“There has been exchange of fire with unidentified personnel on a forward post in Kamkari, Macchal Sector on the line of control. One Pakistani person has been killed while two of our soldiers have suffered injuries and have been evacuated,” the Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said in a post on X.
Firing in Macchal Sect
AdvertisementThere has been exchange of fire with unidentified personnel on a forward post in Kamkari, Macchal Sector on the line of control. One Pakistani person has been killed while two of our soldiers have suffered injuries and have been evacuated.
Operations are… pic.twitter.com/DAOCpovrYT
— Chinar Corps🍁 – Indian Army (@ChinarcorpsIA) July 27, 2024
Reports said that a major-ranked officer among five soldiers were injured in the attack who were immediately evacuated to the nearest medical facility for treatment. One of the injured soldiers later succumbed to injuries while the condition of two more soldiers is believed to be critical.
“A search operation is underway in the area to hunt down the attackers,” the officer quoted above said.
Earlier this week, the Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi, who also briefed Union home minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, reviewed the preparedness of armed forces along the LOC in the same area where the army post was attacked in the wee hours of Saturday.
The attack comes three days after a non-commissioned officer of the army was killed in an encounter with militants near Trimukha Top which links Kupwara’s Lolab region with the Bandipora and Baramulla districts of north Kashmir.
An unidentified militant was also killed in the encounter on Wednesday, July 25.
According to official data, three infiltration attempts were foiled by the army along the LoC in July in the Kupwara district alone, during which officials claimed to have shot dead six unidentified militants, while an army non-commissioned officer also gave his life in a shootout during a face-off with the infiltrators.
In the past, the Line of Control, which divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan, has recorded maximum infiltration attempts during June, July and August when snow in the highlands begins to melt, opening a brief window for Pakistan to push militants into the union territory.
Last week, an infiltration bid was foiled by security forces along the LoC in Battal forward area of the Krishnagati belt in Poonch district of Jammu where a soldier was grievously injured. The victim later succumbed.
The uptick in violence in Kashmir valley follows a spate of attacks on civilians and security forces by a group of militants who have opened a new theatre of conflict in Jammu division by taking refuge in the dense forests of Poonch and Rajouri districts of Pir Panjal region.
At least 49 soldiers have been killed in less than three years in Jammu division where militancy has made a stunning comeback after years of relative calm. This has prompted the security administration to consider deploying additional 3000 troops and 500 para commandos in the region.
