Photo journo, army jawan among 4 killed in Sambha encounter

Jammu, May 11, (UNI) At least four people were killed and as many wounded after militants struck the bordering Sambha district of Jammu and Kashmir today.

A small group of two to three militants stormed a house of Hoshiar Singh, a Indian Democratic Party leader in Rakh Amb Tali Village and shot at the people inside.

While Hoshiar and his better half succumbed, their two relatives were shifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu, sources said.

Immediately after the incident, the security forces launched a massive operation and cordoned off the house in the nearby Kailimandi area, where the fierce gun battle began.

Mr Ashok Sodhi, a chief photographer of the Daily Excelsior -- a Jammu based leading english daily of Jammu and Kashmir -- also fell prey to the bullets, while covering the operation.

An Army Jawan also died in the gun battle with the militants, who were firing from the house, while a major and jawan were grievously wounded, an official source said.

The operation was still in progress as the militants continued to fire from inside the house.

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