Colonel, Major among 5 security personnel killed in J&K encounter

A Colonel and a Major were among five security personnel killed in an encounter at a village in north Kashmir's Handwara area, officials said on Sunday.

Two terrorists were also killed in the encounter at the Chanjmulla area of Handwara, which is part of north Kashmir's Kupwara district, they said.

The Army officers were leading a team to rescue civilians who had been taken hostage by the terrorists, the officials said.

Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Commanding Officer of 21 Rashtriya Rifles unit lost his life in the encounter. He had been part of several successful counter-terrorist operations in the past, ANI reported.

Based on the intelligence input that terrorists were taking the civilian inmates of a house in Changimulla, Handwara of Kupwara district hostage, a joint operation was launched by Army and J&K Police, said Army spokesperson on Handwara Operation.