Army officer, trooper killed in J&K encounter

A Lieutenant Colonel and a trooper were killed in a gun-battle with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.

The day-long encounter, in which a Central Reserve Police Force trooper and a policeman were injured, came to an with the gunning down of a top Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist. 

Police said that acting on a tip-off, a joint operation was launched by troops belonging to the 22 Rashtriya Rifles and the CRPF, and the state police in Sopore town on Sunday morning.

Having surrounded the house in which the terrorists were holed up, security forces challenged them to surrender. But the cornered terrorists resorted to opening fire on the troops.

Defence spokesman Lt Col A K Mathur said Lt Col MS Kadam and trooper Pradeep Kumar were killed in the ensuing gun-battle.

Asked about the fate of the terrorists, he said although the firing has stopped, he would not be able to comment on that immediately.