5 security men killed in gunbattle

Srinagar: Five security personnel, including a CRPF officer, were killed on Friday in an encounter with militants while a civilian died in clashes near the site in Kupwara in J&K, where areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts were heavily shelled by Pakistan for the eighth consecutive day, injuring a civilian on Friday.

The encounter broke out on Friday morning after the militants opened fire on the security forces search operation in Babagund area of Kupwara. Nine security force personnel were injured and five of them succumbed to injuries. The slain personnel included a CRPF inspector and a jawan, two Army men and a policeman. A youth, Waseem Ahmad Mir, was killed in clashes with the security forces, officials said. It was not clear if any militants were killed.

Sources said that the gunfight broke out during a cordon-and-search operation launched jointly by the Army’s 22 Rashtriya Rifles, 92 Battalion of the CRPF, and J&K police’s counter-insurgency special operations group in Baba Gund village.

The security forces used floodlights to ensure that the militants trapped in the area did not escape taking the advantage of darkness, the locals said.

The encounter started at around 1.00 am soon after the joint team of security forces intensified the searches and fired some warning shots towards the suspected spot, the officials said.

A report, not confirmed by the authorities so far, said that the second militant was also gunned down later.