Major killed, Col injured in J&K encounter

JAMMU - A major of the Indian Army was killed and a colonel injured in a fierce gun battle between the security forces and a group of four to six terrorists in Mendhar forest area of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir Tuesday night.

Five other soldiers were injured in the encounter that was continuing till Wednesday morning. Two terrorists were also killed, but the bodies were yet to be recovered.

The encounter started Tuesday night when the troops of 37 Rashtriya Rifles led by Col. Ajay Katoch and Major Amit Phunge moved into Beri Rakh forests in Mendhar, 230 km northeast of Jammu, to trace the terrorists after locals reported suspected movements in the area.

The Colonel received a bullet injury in his neck, while the Major took the brunt of heavy firing from Ak-47 assault rifles by militants and died on the spot.

Army sources in Jammu said that the encounter was still on. More forces have been rushed to the spot to fight the terrorists and also to ensure that none of them are able to escape.

It is suspected from their style of fighting that they were terrorists from Lashkar-e-Toiba group, the army sources