General Officer Commanding 15 Corps, Lt Gen BS Raju, Monday said that Army suffered only five casualties in Keran gunfight with militants yesterday. He said the operation, in Kupwara district in which five militants were also killed, got hampered due to adverse weather conditions and difficult terrain.
“We suffered only five casualties, no further casualties or injuries,”Lt Gen B S Raju told the Greater Kashmir.
The Special Forces personnel killed in the gun-battle havebeen identified as Subedar Sanjeev Kumar, Havildar Davendra Singh, ParatrooperBal Krishan, Paratrooper Amit Kumar and Paratrooper Chhatrapal Singh.
“We have dispatched the mortal remains of the soldiersaround 11.30 am today and they will be reaching their respective families bythis evening only.”
Gen Raju said that the Keran operation has been called off.”The operation took time because of difficult terrain and adverse weather,” hesaid adding that for the first three days weather was totally adverse. “In lasttwo days weather opened up we carried out the operation.”
The GOC said that the militants divided themselves into twogroups. “One group with the guide was trying to go back and we trapped that. Atthe same time we engaged other one and eliminated both the groups,” he said.”There is over 10 feet snow right now where the gunfight took place.”
“So far we have inputs that the group belongs to JeM, we arecorroborating.”
Meanwhile, police have despatched a team to the area tocollect DNA samples of the killed militants. A police official said a familyfrom south Kashmir has approached them for body, stating that one of the killedmilitants was their son. “Any further step will be taken after DNA matching,”the official said.
Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said the Army engagedthe militants in a close quarter battle in heavy snow, “neutralising the entireinfiltrating batch of five.”
“Four soldiers under the command of a Junior CommissionedOfficer from one of the most professional Para SF Units were air dropped nearthe LoC after information on the infiltrators was received,” he said. “Anintense hand to hand battle ensued and all five militants were eliminated.”
In this battle, Army lost five of its best soldiers, threeon the site and two more succumbed while they were airlifted to a nearbymilitary hospital.
“Army salutes the brave hearts killed in action and shallcontinue to protect its borders from inimical forces at all costs,” he added.