An Army convoy was attacked in Pulwama on Monday; two soldiers were killed in the attack
An Army soldier was killed in a gunbattle with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag today - the tenth casualty the security forces suffered in five days. Two terrorists, including the man who owned the explosive-laden car used in the suicide bombing of a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in February, were also shot dead in the encounter.
On Tuesday morning, the security forces launched a search operation based on intelligence inputs that some terrorists could be hiding in the area. The operation soon turned into an encounter after the terrorists opened fired at the forces.
The operation is going on.
The death of the Army soldier today is the tenth casualty the security forces suffered in five days. Five Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and a policeman were killed in Anantnag last week, two soldiers were killed in an attack on a convoy in Pulwama on Monday and Army Major Ketan Sharma died fighting terrorists in Anantnag the same day.
The attack on the CRPF men last week happened amid the state administration preparing for the annual Amarnath Yatra that would begin next month. The 46-day pilgrimage is scheduled to start from two routes, one of which passes from Anantnag.
Today's encounter comes a day after an Army vehicle was targeted with an improvised explosive device in Pulwama, where a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was attacked by a suicide bomber of the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed in February.
The armoured vehicle of the 44 Rashtriya Rifles was completely damaged in the improvised explosive device (IED) blast near Arihal village in Pulwama; 18 soldiers were injured in the attack.
The site of Monday's attack was 27 km from the area where the CRPF convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber of the Jaish-e-Mohammed in February.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army chief General Bipin Rawat will pay tribute to Major Ketan Sharma, who died in the encounter in Anantnag on Monday.