Army officer, 4 militants killed in Jammu & Kashmir gun battle

An army officer and four top Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed in a gun battle at Dadsara village in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. Captain Deepak Sharma was killed in the 30-hour gun battle that began on Wednesday morning and went on till Thursday evening.

“The army has lost a gallant officer. Captain Sharma gunned down two terrorists before he died fighting,” Lt Col JS Brar, defence spokesman, said, adding that five under-barrel grenade launchers were recovered from the militants.

“It was Capt Sharma’s first posting in Kashmir. He was a diehard soldier,” Col Vineet Sood, another army spokesman at the 15 Corps headquarters, said. “Capt Sharma was supposed to go to Haryana to get married next month,” he said. Hailing from Rohtak, Haryana, the 26-year-old  was commissioned in the Corps of Signals in September 2006. He was posted in Kashmir since July last year.