A policeman injured in the Srinagar encounter being taken to hospital
There was heavy exchange of fire through the night between terrorists and security forces in the outskirts of Srinagar on Wednesday, hours after the army revealed that its troops had been engaged in an encounter with Pakistani forces since a massive infiltration attempt by at least 30 terrorists last week.
Four policemen were injured in the late-night encounter at Soura near Srinagar, which went on till the terrorists, holed up inside a house, escaped under the cover of darkness.
A massive search operation has been launched in the area.
The police had earlier cordoned off the area after information that terrorists were present there, sources said.
Indian troops have been engaged in heavy exchange of fire for 10 days after about 30 terrorists tried to infiltrate into the Keran sector of Kashmir about 100 km from Srinagar, last Tuesday. The Indian Army yesterday stopped short of accusing the Pakistan military of involvement in the massive infiltration bid, but said encounter suggested that the infiltrators had backing and training of "special troops."
(Indian army hints at Pakistan army's role in massive LoC encounter)"There were some special troops (involved in the infiltration bid), the training shows it. It is different from earlier attempts," said Lt-General Gurmeet Singh of the Army's 15 Corps. "This is a BAT action cum infiltration," he said, referring to the Border Action Team of the Pakistani army which includes members of Pakistan's commando Special Services Group.
Five Indian soldiers have been injured in the encounter, none of them seriously.
The infiltration by the Pakistanis began five days before the Prime Minister and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif met in New York. The leaders agreed that their military commanders will work urgently to repair the ceasefire along the Line of Control, which has been violated gravely in recent months, creating tension for both countries.
Though the Indian army claims 12 infiltrators have been killed, no bodies have been recovered so far.