Srinagar: Three soldiers, including an officer, were martyred and two fidayeen gunned down as the Army foiled a militant attack on its camp in the frontier district of Kupwara early this morning. A defence ministry spokesman said a group of militants opened indiscriminate firing with automatic weapons and hurling grenade at the main gate of an Army camp at Panzgam in Kupwara district under the cover of darkness.
Alert sentry posted at the main gate immediately retaliated and in the ensuing fierce gun battle, two militants were reportedly killed. An officer and two other soldiers were also martyred in the encounter, he said. He said additional troops have been rushed to the spot from nearby camps and a massive search operation launched. The operation was continuing when the reports last came in, he said.
The attack comes a day after , GOC Chinar Corps Lt General J S Sandhu said the Army will continue action against militants in the valley. This was the first major fidayeen attack on the Army camp since September 18, 2016 that left 20 soldiers dead and several others injured. Four fidayeen were also killed in the attack who stormed into the camp in Uri. After the Uri attack, the troops carried out a surgical strike in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). (UNI)