Srinagar, April 17: Militants have escaped from Watnar Kokernag area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district after killing a soldier.
The killed soldier has been identified as Lance Naik Nishan Singh of 19 Rashtriya Rifles. The Army continued the operation in the village until this morning and then called it off when no contact was established with the militants.
Quoting sources in the police, local news agency GNS reported that the soldier received a serious bullet wound in the initial exchange of fire. He was rushed to the hospital but succumbed on the way.
The encounter began on Saturday morning when Army cordoned off Watnar following a tip-off about the presence of militants.
In recent days, Army has killed many militants in successive encounters.
On Friday, four local militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba were killed in an encounter in Shopian district of south Kashmir.
Militants have also renewed their attacks on civilians, killing a driver belonging to minority community in South Kashmir. On Thursday, they killed a sarpanch Manzoor Ahmad Bangroo in Pattan in North Kashmir. Bangroo reportedly belonged to the BJP. However, the party has denied such reports.
