J&K: Colonel, Major among 5 martyred in encounter in Handwara

Srinagar, May 03: An Indian army colonel, a major and two soldiers, along with a Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) police sub-inspector, were martyred in an intense gun battle that lasted for nearly 8 hours, an operation by security forces in Handwara town in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district.

The operation, which took place in Handwara in J&K's Kupwara district, also left two terrorists dead, the Indian army said in a statement.

The joint operation was based on intelligence inputs, which said civilians living in a house in Changimulla area of Handwara were taken hostage by the terrorists.

Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, the commanding officer of the army's 21 Rashtriya Rifles battalion, Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh Kumar and Lance Naik Dinesh Singh and sub-inspector Shakeel Qazi of the Jammu and Kashmir police were killed after the more than 12-hours of a firefight with terrorists in Handwara district.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in a Twitter post, described the deaths of the security personnel as "deeply disturbing and painful."