2 Captains, 2 soldiers killed in J&K gunfight

Two army Captains and two soldiers were killed, while another officer and soldier were wounded, in a fierce gun-battle with heavily armed terrorists that started on Wednesday morning and continued late into the night inside a dense forest in Rajouri district of Jammu & Kashmir, officials aware of the matter said.

- Ravi Krishnan Khajuria

The officers killed in action were both Captains of the 63 Rashtriya Rifles, while a Havaldar of 9 Para (Special Forces) and a soldier also lost their lives, the officials said, asking not to be named. The wounded included a Major of 9 Para (Special Forces) and a soldier.

Their identities were not disclosed as of late Wednesday night.

The encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists — believed to be two or three in number — in Bajimaal area in Kalakote tehsil of Rajouri district on Wednesday morning after officers from the army and Jammu & Kashmir police acted on an intelligence input and launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area.

“The first contact with terrorists was established at Solki by the 63 Rashtriya Rifle troops around 9am. Immediately, a cordon and search operation was launched,” said an army officer, who asked not to be named. “In the ensuing search operation, troops were fired upon by terrorists in which two Captains of the 63 RR and 9 Para (Special Forces) respectively, besides a Havaldar of 9 Para (SF) and a soldier were killed.”

“A Major of 9 Para (SF) and another soldier, who were wounded in the gunfight, were evacuated to the Command Hospital in Udhampur. They are stable,” the officer said, adding that the operation was still underway as of late on Wednesday night.