Gurez encounter continues, 13 terrorists killed

One more terrorist was killed in the Army's counter-infiltration operation in Gurez sector of north Kashmir, near the Line of Control, as the number of terrorists killed rose to 13 in the gunbattles that entered its fifth day.

The military operation inside the forests of Gurez sector follows the first large infiltration attempt of the year, which was detected and foiled by the Army last week when 12 terrorists were killed in an operation in the same sector of Bandipora district.

"The operation continues in Gurez area," defence spokesman Lieutenant Colonel J S Brar told PTI.

So far, 13 terrorists and one army officer have been killed in the gunbattles.

The first confrontation among a group of terrorists, coming into the Kashmir Valley from across the line, and army personnel took place on the night of August 19-20.

Army killed 12 terrorists who were attempting to cross Kishenganga river, which at some parts acts as the LoC, in a gunfight that raged for many hours.

Lieutenant Navdeep Singh, from 15th Battalion of Maratha Light Infantry, was killed in the gunfight.

Since then, Army has continued its operation in the area launching a manhunt for terrorists who might have succeeded in escaping the initial encounter.

"Post encounter, intensive search operations have been undertaken in the jungles in the vicinity of the encounter site," the defence spokesman said.

The 13th terrorist was killed on Tuesday night during search operations near the vicinity of the August 20 encounter site.
Brar said the terrorist fired indiscriminately at the soldiers, who returned the gunfire and killed him. The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants were not yet known.