Army officer, 3 soldiers, 4 militants among 12 killed in J

Srinagar, Sep 4 (UNI) An Army captain and four militants were among 12 people killed while security forces arrested an ultra involved in the attack on Raghunath temple in Jammu and Kashmir overnight.

An Army captain, two soldiers and three militants were killed in a more than 20 hour-long fierce gunbattle at Ayatmulla village in Bandipora area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district today.

Giving details, Army spokesman Col Hemant Juneja said troops of 57 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), on a tip off, launched a search operation at Ayatmulla village in Sonarwan area of Bandipora, about 75 km north of the summer capital, at around 1800 last evening.

He said soon after, contact was established with the militants who had taken a refuge in a house in the village.

As troops were laying artificial blockade on all sides of the house to prevent the escape of the militants, they came under heavy fire by the ultras, the spokesman added.

He said the fire was retaliated, but Captain A J I Anthony and two soldiers were injured in the gunfight. They were immediately evacuated to a hospital where they succumbed to wounds, the spokesman added.

He said reinforcements were rushed to the area this morning and the militants were fired upon from all sides.

At 1400 hrs, the house was partially damaged in the gunfight and on an initial search, bodies of three militants were recovered.

The identity of the militants was yet to be established, the spokesman said, adding the search of debris was still going on when reports last came in.

An official spokesman said police recovered four human skeletons besides two magazines and two hand grenades at Lashdat near the Line of Control (LoC) in the frontier district of Kupwara last night.

Militants hurled a hand grenade towards the security forces patrol near Kalwa village in Mahore area of Udhampur district late last night. The grenade exploded near the patrol party, causing an on the spot death of a jawan and injuries to four others, he added.

Security forces have lauched a massive search operation in the area to nab the ultras.

Security forces killed a Jaish-e-Mohammad militant during an encounter that raged for several hours at Medoora Pathi Khangund near Awantipra in south Kashmir's Pulwama district today, he said.

The militant has been identified as Qadir Yar, a resident of Sargodha in Pakistan, the spokesman said, adding an AK rifle, 10 UBGLs, three hand grenades, one UGBL grenade and a magazine were seized from the encounter site.

A UNI report from Jammu said security forces arrested a Lashkar- e-Toiba militant in Surankote area of Poonch district today for his alleged involvement in the attack on the Raghunath temple in Jammu city in April 2002. Police sources said Maroof Khan alias Chichu was picked up for the second time in connection with the case.

A case had earlier been registered against him under the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) and the Public Safety Act, but the court ordered his release on bail.

Chichu was arrested in 2002 after investigations revealed that he had helped and connived with Lashkar militants in providing them shelter in Jammu and also supplied them with weapons to attack the Raghunath temple.

UNI AG AK KP1952