Even as the operation against militants in Bangus valley was called off on Tuesday morning after three days of intense encounter in which four militants were killed, the Army in north Kashmir got engaged in yet another exchange of fire near the Line of Control (LoC). Two infiltrators have been killed so far in the operation, which is still on in the Keran sector of Kupwara district.

Army spokesperson in Srinagar Col Uma Mashewara said the encounter began on Tuesday evening after a group of infiltrators was spotted by the troops. While two had been killed, search was on in the dense forests near the area, the spokesperson said.

This is the fourth encounter on the LoC in the past eight days, in the same district. Apart from the two deaths on Tuesday, seven infiltrators have been gunned down in these encounters.

Sources said that troops of various units in Keran sector have been put on an alert so that all the intruders are neutralised and no one manages to escape. The Army has also rushed reinforcements to take on the heavily armed infiltrators. The Army said they were yet to establish the identity of the slain militants or the group which had tried to sneak in.

Earlier, with the recovery of bodies of all the four militants killed near the LoC in Bangus valley, police and Army called off the operation. On Sunday morning, troops of Army’s 11 Raj Rifles and police had launched an operation against militants at Lokut Bangus Satnari Badibekah in north Kashmir. The operation lasted three days, with four unidentified militants and a soldier dead.

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