Kashmir encounter: 3 Army men, 12 militants killed

An officer of the rank of colonel and three jawans were also killed in the encounter on Friday but there were no casualties on the security forces side today, they said.

Col J J Joseph, commanding officer of the 45 Rashtriya Rifles, is the highest ranking army official to have been killed in counter-insurgency operations in the last one year.

Army troops had laid a cordon of the jungle area in in Machhil sector of Kupwara district, killing five militants early Friday.

This is the first major encounter with militants in the hinterland, and comes as reports suggest a steep increase in infiltration attempts by militants and LoC violations by the Pakistani troops.