Army officer, 4 soldiers killed in gunfight with terrorists in J-K's Poonch

During a cordon-and-search operation initiated by the army the insurgents opened fire on its personnel inflicting critical injuries to the four soldiers and the army officer

A junior commissioned officer (JCO) and four soldiers of the Indian Army were killed in a gunfight during an anti-insurgency operation with terrorists in the Surankote area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Monday, officials said. Defence spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand told reporters that the anti-insurgency operation was launched early on Monday morning in a village in Dehra Ki Gali (DKG) area in Surankote after the army received intelligence input about the presence of terrorists.

Army officials also told reporters that they have received information about the presence of a group of heavily armed terrorists in Chamrer forest (File Photo)

Anand said during the cordon-and-search operation initiated by the army the insurgents opened fire on its personnel inflicting critical injuries to the four soldiers and the JCO. An encounter was launched after that and which is currently underway, he added. All the five army personnel succumbed to their injuries later. "Based on intelligence inputs, the Indian Army launched a cordon and search operation in villages close to DKG in Surankote jurisdiction of the Poonch district of J-K today morning. The encounter with terrorists is going on," Anand said earlier.

Army officials also told reporters that they have received information about the presence of a group of heavily armed terrorists in Chamrer forest after they managed to sneak in from across the Line of Control (LoC). The army rushed reinforcements to the area to plug all escape routes so the terrorists could be apprehended.