Baramulla encounter: ‘Firing from Pakistani post…’, says Indian Army on third terrorist killed

The Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police foiled a major infiltration bid by killing three terrorists along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Uri town of Baramulla district, Brigadier PMS Dhillon, commander of the Pir Panjal Brigade, on 16 September.

Brigadier Dhillon informed that two terrorists were eliminated and their bodies were recovered, adding the third terrorist was killed but the retrieval of the body was interfered with by the firing from a Pakistani post in the vicinity, reported Hindustan Times.

"Based on specific inputs, in a joint operation launched by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police, an infiltration bid was foiled today in Baramulla. Three terrorists tried to infiltrate and were engaged by alert troops. Two terrorists were eliminated and their bodies were recovered, the third terrorist was killed but the retrieval of the body was interfered with by the firing from a Pakistani post in the vicinity. Search operations are underway," the brigadier said at a press briefing.

Earlier in the day, the Indian Army in a statement had said that the three killed terrorists had attempted to infiltrate through the Hathlanga forward area of Uri at 6:45 am.

The terrorists opened fire on the Army which led to the encounter and a fierce gunfight started, the statement added.

"The army came under heavy firing across the border from Pakistan army when they were attempting to retrieve the body of a third killed terrorist," the Indian Army said in its statement.

It is to be known that the infiltration bid and the subsequent encounter came at a time when an operation was underway in the Anantnag district to neutralize terrorists who had taken positions in the forest area in hilly terrain. The gunfight entered its fourth day on Saturday.

Sharing a statement of additional director general of police (ADGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar, the Kashmir Zone Police posted on micro-blogging site X on Friday, “Rtd Police/Army officers should avoid ‘Ambush Hypothesis’. It is a specific input-based op. Ops is in progress and all 2-3 trapped terrorists will be neutralised.”

Meanwhile, a soldier who had been reported missing Thursday lost his life in the ongoing encounter, officials said on Friday.

In the ongoing gunfight in the Anantnag district, an Army colonel in the Rashtriya Rifles lost his life, while an Army major and a deputy superintendent of the Jammu and Kashmir Police also fell to enemy fire in the Kokernag area. The slain senior officers were identified as Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish Dhonak, and DSP Humayun Bhat.

With agency inputs.