Army soldier, two terrorists killed in Rajouri gunbattle

Rajouri, Aug 16 (ANI): An Army soldier and two terrorists have been killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri District, which entered its third day on Monday.

An Army major, a policeman and a civilian have also been injured in the incident.

Acting on a tip-off, the Rashtriya Rifles and police personnel launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Rajdhani forest belt at Thanamandi tehsil of the district, where the militants were reported to be hiding.

Meanwhile, additional forces have been rushed to the area to counter the militants and prevent them from fleeing.

The deceased Army soldier has been identified as Sepoy S K Singha, while the injured have been identified as Major Susheel Mahapatra of 38 Rashtriya Rifles, Special Police official Iftikhar Malik and civilian Abdul Razak.

There are further reports that the slain militants are a part of the same outfit that was involved in the attack on a passenger bus at Der-Ki Gali area of the district last Wednesday. (ANI)