Reports of exchange of heavy firing between the Indian and Pakistan armies on Tuesday afternoon have come from the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district.
Defence Ministry spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand said that at about 4 pm, Pakistan violated the ceasefire by firing with small arms followed by shelling with mortars in Nowshera sector.
“The Indian Army retaliated befittingly,” said Lt Col Devender Anand.
Earlier, on Tuesday morning, two terrorists were killed in an encounter with the security forces in the forests of Anantnag district in Jammu and Kashmir. The Anantnag encounter took place during a cordon and search operation in Kokernag to flush out hiding militants.
Police said the security forces launched the cordon and search operation based on specific intelligence input about the presence of militants in the Kachwan forest area of Kokernag in the south Kashmir district.
The search party had sealed all exit points to ensure that the militants do not escape. The encounter ensued when the terrorists fired at the forces, which then retaliated and killed two of them.
The bodies of the militants were recovered along with arms and ammunition. The police said the identity of the slain terrorists and their group affiliation were being ascertained.
The district authorities have suspended mobile Internet facility as a precautionary measure.
Earlier, a cordon and search operation was launched in Kareemabad village of Pulwama district in the early hours of Tuesday to flush out hiding terrorists. The operation was called off as no militant could be found in the village.
On Monday, the security forces had foiled a major mishap by defusing an IED that was planted by terrorists on the vital Jammu-Poonch Highway to target Army convoys moving towards areas along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK).
(With agency inputs)