Amid a “wordy duel” in Islamabad during talks between the foreign ministers, the Pakistan troops in a serious breach of truce resorted to unprovoked heavy firing at six Indian posts in Poonch and Jammu districts on Thursday night.
On the other hand, in the raging Mendhar encounter between the security forces and terrorists, which entered fourth day on Friday, yet another Army major and two soldiers were injured.
In another operation, the security forces apprehended a Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) militant in Kunau Got, Patnazi, area of Thathri in Kishtwar on Friday. On the fourth day of ongoing encounter between security forces and militants in Beri Rakh woods of Mendhar tehsil in Poonch district, the security forces suffered three non-fatal causalities in the wee hours on Friday. At around 3 am militants hiding in deep forests fired indiscriminately on a search party of 43 Rashtriya Rifles led by Major J.S. Shekhawat in which the officer along with two other jawans, identified as Naik Narinder Singh and Rifleman Bhanu Pratap were injured.
The wounded soldiers were immediately evacuated from the site by their fellow colleagues. Major Shekhawat and Naik Narinder Singh were later airlifted to the Command Hospital Udhampur and Rifleman Bhanu Pratap to Garrison Hospital Rajouri by an army helicopter. Sources claimed that “divisional commander” of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) outfit Abu Sohail was reportedly trapped in the forest and intercepts revealed that he was asking his associate to rescue him. However, the security agencies not confirmed these reports. BGS Headquarter 16 Corps Brigadier Satish Dua informed that three soldiers suffered non-fatal wounds and two of them including a major were airlifted to Command Hospital.