Army major, soldier killed in Kashmir gunfight (Second Lead)

SRINAGAR - An army officer and a soldier succumbed to injuries sustained in a gun battle between separatist guerrillas and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district, police said Wednesday.

A raiding party of the army and local police was moved out Tuesday night to lay a cordon in Chatibandi village in the district following specific information that a group of militants was hiding there, police added.

“The operation was launched on specific intelligence and as the troops were closing in on the target area, they were fired upon by terrorists resulting in injures to one officer and one soldier. They later succumbed to their injuries in the military hospital,” Defence spokesperson Lt. Col J.S. Brar said in a statement.

“Major Yogendra Rajbar and Rifleman Uttam Singh were martyred in an encounter last (Tuesday) night,” Brar added.

“The officer was a resident of Dehradun and had been operating in the area for close to two years. He is survived by his mother, sister and brother. Rifleman Uttam Singh is survived by his wife and two-year-old daughter,” he added.

“The operation was still on when reports last came in. The area is mountainous and forested and it has been raining heavily for the last two days,” the spokesman said.