Two terrorists were also killed in the encounter, officials said.
Representative image
An Army Colonel and an Army Major were among five security personnel who were killed in an encounter at a village in Handwara in north Kashmir that also saw the elimination of two terrorists, officials said on Sunday. Army officers Col Ashutosh Sharma and Major Anuj, and Jammu and Kashmir Police Sub-Inspector Shakeel Qazi were among the deceased, they said. Col Sharma was leading a team to rescue civilians who had been taken hostage by the terrorists hiding in a house at the Chanjmullah area of Handwara in frontier Kupwara district of north Kashmir on Saturday, the officials said. The operation was initially launched in the forest area of Rajwar in Handwara tehsil of Kupwara district on Saturday against terrorists who were reportedly hiding in the densely forested area. Feeling the heat of the security personnel, the terrorists, initially believed to be two to three, came down to hide in a private house in Chanjimulla village. “Based on the intelligence input that terrorists were taking the civilian inmates of a house in Changimulla, Handwara of Kupwara district hostage, a joint operation was launched by Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police,” an Army spokesperson told ANI. “A team comprising 5 Army and J&K police personnel entered the target area occupied by terrorists to evacuate the civilians. The team of Army and JK Police entered the area and successfully extricated the civilians,” the spokesperson added. As the hostages were being rescued, the team, which also consisted of a Lance Naik and a Rifleman, came under heavy fire which was effectively retaliated by the security personnel in the outer cordon, they said. In the early hours of Sunday, a major offensive was launched by the security forces as there had been no contact with the Colonel or his team, the officials said. “In the ensuing firefight, two terrorists were eliminated and the team of five Army and Jammu and Kashmir personnel, comprising 2 Army officers, 2 Army soldiers and 1 J&K Police Sub-Inspector attained martyrdom,” the spokesperson added. (With agency inputs)
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