Army kills 3 militants, recovers arms and supplies with Pak markings in Handwara

Three militants were killed in an operation in north Kashmir’s Langate area after they attacked a paramilitary camp on Thursday morning.

Three militants were killed and a large cache of arms, food and medicines -- with markings indicating they were from Pakistan -- recovered after an encounter with security forces in northern Kashmir’s Hadwara area on Thursday.

Security troops on guard during the combing operation in Handwara on Thursday morning after militants attacked a Rashtriya Rifles camp. (ANI)

The army found three AK-47 rifles, grenade launchers, a large quantity of ammunition, GPS-enabled radio sets, maps and metric sheets -- provisions indicating that the militants were prepared for another assault.

The army said it was analysing the maps and metric sheets to assess the specifics of the infiltration.

At around 5 am, armed men had opened fire on 30 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) camp at Langate in Kupwara district. However, alert jawans foiled their attempts to infiltrate the location, the army said.

After repelling the attack, security forces launched a search operation in the area, forcing the militants into an orchard. As the area was cordoned off, the militants exchanged fire with security forces, resulting in the deaths.

The army said jawans spotted only three militants, though earlier reports suggested at least five armed men had attacked the camp situated a few kilometers from the 46 RR camp situated in Baramulla.

“The terrorists fired indiscriminately on our sentry posts and on our jawans in the resting area. However alert action by the jawans forced the militants to retreat,” said Colonel Rajiv Sarang, Commanding officer 30 RR.

“We had spotted only three militants and all of them have been eliminated,” he added.

An army spokesman earlier said the armed men were dressed in combat fatigues.

In a separate instance, one terrorist was killed in Naugham sector after the army foiled three infiltration bids overnight. An army spokesperson said the body was recovered during the combing operations which are still on. Earlier in the day, the army said the bids -- two in Naugam sector and one in Rampur -- were “assisted by Pakistan posts”.

This Langate incident is the second attack on a military camp after the September 18 attack in Uri that killed 19 soldiers. On October 2, at least six militants had attacked a military post in Baramullah, killing one Border Security Force soldier.

The offensive comes amid tensions between India and Pakistan as India blames its neighbour for sponsoring militants. India has been attempting to globally isolate Pakistan over the issue, even pulling out of the Saarc summit that was to be held in Islamabad in November.