Colonel critically injured in Kashmir encounter

An Army Colonel was among two security personnel injured in an encounter near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district of Kashmir today, officials said.
The Commanding Officer of 41 Rashtriya Rifles sustained serious injuries when a search party he was leading came under fire from militants in the dense forests of Haji Naka, the officials said.
They said a police constable was also injured in the firing and both were evacuated to a hospital.
The party of army and police came under fire when it was conducting searches as part of an operation started on November 13 to flush out terrorists hiding in the forest area on the basis of a specific information.

An Army jawan was injured on the first day of the operation.
After the initial contact on November 13, the militants fled deep into the forests and the security forces continued the chase them, leading to fresh contact today, the officials said.