Encounter continues,2 cops among 7 killed

The situation on the ground is quite serious because of the heavy fire from the militants, a top Army officer told The Indian Express. They are holed-up in a cliff that has huge boulders in front.

The officer said that five militants have been killed but their bodies could not be recovered because of militant fire. We have an officer seriously injured, he said.

The officer expressed hope that the encounter would end soon as the action is now localised.

On Monday,a joint team of the Armys 18 Grenadiers and polices Special Operations Group SOG launched an operation in the mountains of Kralpora. Army had inputs about the presence of nine militants,who had recently infiltrated.

As the joint team moved towards the mountains,the militants opened indiscriminate fire. In the initial militant assault,two SOG personnel Shiraz Ahmad and Gulzar Ahmad and an Army officer were critically wounded. The two policemen succumbed to injuries while the Army officer,a Lieutenant,is battling for life.

Sources said the police lost touch with the joint party that was leading the operation against the militants and that is why there is confusion about the exact number of casualties of security forces and the militants.