Sr Army officer injured in north Kashmir encounter

Srinagar, Dec 23: A senior Army officer was injured critically in a fierce encounter at a village in Pattan in north Kashmir district of Baramulla today, official sources said.

They said a specific information was received about the presence of a group of militant by 29 Rashitriya Rifles (RR) early this morning at a village near Pattan, about 27 km from here.

The Troops, led by the Commanding Officer, immediately rushed to the area and sealed the village from all sides. However, when the troops were about to storm a particular house, militants hiding inside opened indiscriminate firing. Troops also retaliated and in the encounter, the Commanding Officer received bullet wounds in the abdomen.

He was immediately admitted to hospital in a critical condition, sources said.

Reinforcement was rushed to the area from nearby camps and militants were being asked to surrender.

The operation against the militants holed up in a house was still going on, they said adding the residents living in the nearby houses were being evacuated to safer places.

UNI