Srinagar, April 27(PTI): Three heavily-armed terrorists today stormed an army camp in Kupwara district of Kashmir, killing a Captain and two other soldiers before two of the assailants were gunned down in a fierce 35-minute encounter.
Soon after the encounter, a mob started pelting stones at the security forces, leading to a clash in which a 75-year-old civilian was killed due to a bullet injury.
At around 4 am, three terrorists, dressed in black Pathani suit and combat jackets, entered from the rear side the artillery unit of the army garrison at Panzgam in Kupwara, about 100 kms from here, and started indiscriminate firing, army officials said here and in New Delhi.
They managed to cross the second security layer of the camp located in a mountainous terrain and spread over an area of 400 x 800 meters, the officials said.
Firing indiscriminately, the terrorists then advanced towards the officers’ complex of the camp which houses about 1000 army personnel and is situated about 10 kms from the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.
Soldiers took on the attackers and forced them back towards one of the gates of the camp, the officials said.
In the gunfight, Captain Ayush Yadav, Subedar Bhoop Singh Gujjar and Naik B Venkata Ramanna were killed.
Five other soldiers were injured and they were airlifted to Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar.
The militants started fleeing as the Quick Response Team (QRT) of the army swung into action, the officials said.
Two militants were gunned down while a third one managed to escape under the cover of darkness, the officials said.
“The entire operation lasted 35 minutes,” said Col Saurabh in Kupwara.
The troops recovered three AK rifles which indicated that there was a third terrorist, he said, adding search operations are underway to track him down.
“We have recovered three AK rifles, nine magazines, 156 AK rounds, one Chinese pistol, three UBGL grenades, three hand grenades, two radio sets, two GPS devices and a smartphone from the slain terrorists,” another official said.
The official, on the condition of anonymity, said the attackers seemed to be foreigners but their identity was being ascertained.
As soon as the encounter ended, local residents held protest demonstrations, demanding that the bodies of slain militants be handed over to them for performing their last rites, a police official said.
The protestors, including women and elderly, continued demonstrations but the army personnel did not relent to their demand, the official said.
In the clash between stone-pelting mobs and security forces, one Mohammad Yousuf Bhat sustained a bullet injury in his chest and was rushed to Kupwara hospital where doctors declared him ‘brought dead’.
Locals alleged that he was killed in firing by security forces.
Capt Yadav, who hailed from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, had joined the service some three years ago. Naik Ramana (38) hailed from Visakhapatnam and served in the army for the last 18 years while Subedar Gujjar (46) had put in 26 years of service.
The Congress today said the repeated terror attacks in the country were extremely worrying and must be met with decisive action and not rhetoric
Condemning the militant attack on an army camp in Kupwara, Congress President Sonia Gandhi termed Pakistan- sponsored terror as a cancer. “The entire country is certainly worried about the repeated terrorist attacks happening in the country,” she said.
Gandhi conveyed her condolences over the death of three security personnel, including an officer, in the Kupwara attack and stressed that the Congress and every Indian were standing with the families of the martyrs.
Speaking in the same vein, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said that the repeated terrorist attacks on army camps are extremely worrying.
He expressed his “heartfelt condolences to the families of our three brave soldiers martyred in the Kupwara attack”.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad also expressed grief over the loss of lives in the militant attack.
AICC incharge of communications department Randeep Surjewala said the Kupwara attack was similar to the one in Uri.
“Wake up from inertia and give a befitting reply.
“Since 2014, 198 jawans have been sacrificed in J&K.
72 soldiers martyred in 2017 fighting Naxalism. Times demand decisive action not rhetoric,” he said.
