Army Colonel, Major Among Five Personnel Martyred During Terrorist Encounter In J&Ks Handwara

Image Credits: Economic Times

The Logical Indian Crew

Army Colonel, Major Among Five Personnel Martyred During Terrorist Encounter In J&K's Handwara

The Indian Army and the J&K Police had launched a joint search operation following inputs that terrorists were hiding in Chanjmulla area of Handwara.

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An intense encounter between holed up terrorists and the security forces in Handwara town in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, which began on Saturday and continued late night, ended on Sunday, May 3.

According to reports, a colonel, one major and two Indian Army soldiers were martyred along with a police officer during the encounter with the militants.

The martyred Commanding Officer of 21 Rashtriya Rifles unit has been identified as Colonel Ashutosh Sharma. A Sena Medal awardee, he had been part of several successful counter-terrorism operations.

Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj along with a Lance Naik, a rifleman and police sub-inspector Shakeel Qazi lost their lives after the hours-long exchange of gunfire with terrorists hiding in one of the houses in the village.

The Indian Army and the J&K Police had launched a joint search operation following inputs that terrorists were hiding in Chanjmulla area of Handwara.

India Today reported that re-enforcements were brought in and a door-to-door intervention was conducted as part of the standard operating procedure to identify the terrorists. Internet services were also suspended in Handwara as part of the operation.

However, the encounter began at around 3:30 pm on Saturday, April 2, during which two terrorists were shot dead by the security personnel.

The latest reports suggest that the security forces suffered a heavy blow from the militants as soon as they entered the house.

"During the process, the team was subjected to a heavy volume of fire by terrorists. In the ensuing firefight, two terrorists were eliminated and a team of five Army and J&K personnel comprising of two Army officers, two Army soldiers and one J&K Police Sub-Inspector attained martyrdom," ANI quoted Army Spokesperson as saying.

Reportedly, the civilians stuck in the house were evacuated safely.

Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, took to Twitter to pay tribute to the martyrs.


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