Two army personnel, including a Captain, were on Wednesday killed in a gunbattle with suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants in Bandipora district of north Kashmir, officials said.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation based on specific inputs about the presence of militants last night. The search party was fired upon by the militants at village Chattibandi, 60 kms from here, defence officials said.
The security men retaliated and in the ensuing gunbattle Captain Joginder Raj and Rifleman Uttam Singh were injured. The duo were immediately evacuated to army hospital where they succumbed to their injuries early today, they said.
The search operation was launched in the village to flush out two LeT militants - Abu Zarar and Abu Musa.
Both the militants are believed to have escaped taking advantage of darkness during the gunfight which continued intermittently throughout the night, they said, adding the operation was called off around 11 AM today after nearly 15 hours of search. PTI
