11 militants killed as army foils major infiltration bid

Srinagar July 02: Eleven militants have been killed as the army foiled a major infiltration bid in a three-day long operation near the Line of Control in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said today.
A Junior Commissioned Officer was also killed in the gunbattle which broke out in Karnah sector in north Kashmir on Monday morning when troops confronted a large group of militants trying to sneak into this side from across the border, the spokesman said.
Eight of the infiltrators were killed at Nasthachun pass today, raising the number of militants killed in the operation to eleven, the spokesman said, adding three militants and the JCO were killed yesterday.
Official sources said troops guarding the LoC observed a large group of heavily armed intruders in the Roshni post area and confronted them in the wee hours on Monday.
However, the militants refused to surrender and opened fire on the troops and fled into nearby forests, prompting the army to launch a massive operation to track them down, the sources said.
Yesterday, troops confronted the infiltrators in the woods and in the ensuing shootout, three militants and a JCO were killed, the sources said.
The operation to track down other militants continued and success was achieved today when eight more infiltrators fell to the bullets of the troops.
A huge cache of arms, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the possession of the slain militants, the sources said.