Army major,3 militants killed as troops foil infiltration bid

Army foiled an infiltration bid in Mendhar sector of the district,killing three militants but lost a major rank officer in the operation.

An Indian army Major and three militants were killed as troops foiled an infiltration attempt by a group of militants in Mendhar area of Poonch district on Wednesday.

Identifying the deceased officer as Major Akash Singh of 5 Maratha Light Infantry,Brigadier General Staff (BGS),16 Corps,Nagrota,Gurdeep Singh,said the Army successfully thwarted the infiltration bid which took place at Sunegali located approximately 5 kms south of Mendhar in the wee hours on Wednesday.

The infiltrating militants,who were 3 to 4 in numbers,had tried to cross over to this side of the LoC under the cover of darkness. However,an army patrol observed the movement and challenged them,resulting into an encounter.

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The deceased army officer was an alumni of OTA Chennai and was commissioned into 5 Maratha LI on September 4,1999,an army spokesman said. During his ten years of meritorious service in the army,he had served in counter insurgency areas of Jammu Kashmir and North East,the spokesman said,adding that he is survived by his wife Deepti Samyal and two minor children.

The bodies of the slain militants have been retrieved from the operation site,Brig Gurdeep Singh said,adding that searches were in progress in the area.

Last month,GoC,Northern Command,Lt Gen P C Bharadwaj had said that over two dozen infiltration attempts have been made by the terrorists since January this year and nearly 70 militants having been successful in crossing over to the state.

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