Two soldiers, 5 others killed in J&K

SRINAGAR: Two soldiers, a police constable and three militants were killed in a fierce encounter in Kangan , while one ultra was gunned down in north Kashmir on Wednesday.

A defence ministry spokesman Colonel V K Batra told UNI that troops of 24 Rashitriya Rifles (RR) and Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police launched a joint operation at village Hayan, Kangan, about 30 km from here on the Srinagar-Leh highway early on Wednesday.

 As the troops were sealing the village, militants hiding there opened fire and hurled hand grenades he said. Security forces retaliated and in the fierce clash three militants were killed. Two soldiers and a SOG jawan also lost their lives in the clash, he said, adding that three A K rifles and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants.

In another operation at Arigam Bandipora in the north Kashmir, troops of 5 JAT gunned down a militant of Pakistan based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) Sajjad Ahmad, he said. One A K rifle and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militant.