This was the second biggest operation in the Valley in the last 48 hours.
Two more soldiers who were injured during a gunfight with militants near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir's Kupwara district succumbed to their injuries on Monday, taking the number of army personnel killed in the operation to five.
Five militants associated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba were also killed in the operation that was launched after the Army intercepted a group of infiltrators in the Keran sector last week. It was the first major operation against infiltrators near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir this year.
“Four soldiers under the command of a Junior Commissioned Officer from the Para SF Units were heli-dropped near the LoC after information about infiltrators was received. An intense hand to hand battle ensued and all five terrorists were eliminated,” a defense spokesperson told The Indian Express.
“In this battle, however, Army lost five of its best soldiers, three on the site and two more succumbed while they were airlifted to a nearby military hospital,” the spokesperson added.
The soldiers were identified as Subedar Sanjeev Kumar, Havildar Davendra Singh, paratroopers Bal Krishan, Amit Kumar…
