Ten militants, two soldiers killed in Kashmir

Ten terrorists and two Indian Army soldiers, including an officer, were killed in separate fierce gun battles in Jammu and Kashmir, army officials said.

A top Indian Army commander, a soldier and eight heavily armed Afghan terrorists were killed in a 50-hour gunfight on the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir's Uri sector, while soldiers gunned down two infiltrating militants near the border in Jammu.

According to an army spokesman, an encounter began on Monday in Uri after the army was tipped off about a large concentration of terrorists in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, ready to cross over to the Indian side.

During the 50-hour battle soldiers killed the terrorists who had infiltrated in the morning of July 30 (Monday), army spokesman Lt Col VK Mathur told IANS.

Indian Army also suffered two casualties, including commanding officer (CO) of the 9 Maratha Light Infantry (MLI) Colonel Vasanth V and Lance Naik Bachhan ShashiKant Ganpat, said Mathur.

"In an act of bravery Col Vasanth and Lance Naik Ganpat achieved martyrdom while fighting hard core Afghan terrorists," Mathur said. Col Vasanth earlier intercepted (the terrorist communication) and fired upon them, who were hiding in dense undergrowth.

"Leading from the front, he organised his troops to surround the terrorists," the spokesman said.

The slain terrorists were heavily armed and well equipped with explosives, AK-47 rifles and communication equipment, Mathur added.

In a separate incident, two militants were killed at Saltori in the border district of Poonch, about 200 km north of Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to an army spokesman in Jammu, troops noticed a group of infiltrators sneaking in from across the Line of Control (LoC).

"The infiltrators opened fire when challenged," the spokesman said.

Infiltration bids from across LoC have increased in recent days.