SOURCE: INDIA TODAY
Security agencies killed two terrorists, including a Lashkar commander, during an encounter in Handwara town in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district late Saturday. Along with the bodies of two terrorists during clearance operations, security forces also recovered weapons and other “warlike stores” from the encounter site. Chinese Type 56 and Romanian WASR series rifles were found at the encounter site.
A colonel, a major and three other security forces personnel were killed in encounter with terrorists in north Kashmir on Sunday. The encounter in Handwara claimed the lives of Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh and Lance Naik Dinesh, all from the Brigade of the Guards regiment, and at present part of the 21 Rashtriya Rifles.
A Jammu and Kashmir Police Sub-Inspector, Sageer Ahmad Pathan was also killed.
Giving details of the encounter, officials said that the two terrorists killed in the encounter included commander of banned Lashker-e-Taiba Haider, who has been active in the north Kashmir area.
They had held some civilians hostage, the officials said, adding that a couple of terrorists could have managed to give security forces the slip under the cover of darkness as well. A hunt has been launched in the entire area.
Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbagh Singh said, “Sad to inform that five brave personnel including Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood and sub-inspector of JKP Shakeel Qazi were martyred in the line of duty.”
THE OPERATION
Security forces had noticed presence of some terrorists in the Rajwar forests in the Handwara area and a brief exchange of fire had taken place on Thursday.
Around Saturday afternoon, intelligence inputs indicated presence of the same group of terrorists inside a house at Changimulla village, prompting Col Sharma to launch a cordon-and-search operation.
After a considerable lull, Col Sharma and four other personnel barged into a house from an adjacent cowshed presuming that the terrorists had been eliminated in the heavy gunfire.
According to the officials, the team came under heavy fire after rescuing civilians and all communication links with Col Sharma and his team were snapped. Calls made on the mobile numbers of the team were answered by terrorists.
The Army then rushed in para-troopers, who after ascertaining that the Army officer and his team were killed in the encounter, launched an offensive early morning and killed the two terrorists.
On conclusion of the operations, the house was searched and bodies of two terrorists eliminated in the encounter were recovered along with arms and ammunition.
https://defencenewsofindia.com/handwara-security-forces-recover-chinese-type-56-rifle-from-encounter-site/
