Two militants killed as Pampore encounter ends on third day
Officials had earlier said that other infiltrators were holed up in the Entrepreneurship Development Institute's hostel building.
The encounter in Kashmir's Pampore, in which two militants were killed, ended on Wednesday three days after it began. The Army concluded its combing operations after more than 52 hours. However, officials had earlier announced that other militants were holed up in the Entrepreneurship Development Institute's hostel building.
Two soldiers were injured in the encounter. Investigators believe that the militants breached the building after crossing the Jhelum river and had plans to attack Army convoys or other government buildings in the area, The Times of India reported.
The same building was attacked by militants in February. Officials said, "We don't want any causalities this time. In the February encounter, militants inflicted heavy causalities on the security forces when they tried to enter the building. This time, we will not take any such risk." Two Central Reserve Police Force men were killed and 12 others were injured in the February encounter.
To avoid such an eventuality, security personnel used new tactics, including surveillance drones, to figure out the exact location of the militants, according to The Indian Express. The security forces also approached the engineers who designed the building to get a fair idea about the complex. Officials said they initially suspected that the militants did not fire through Tuesday as they were rationing their ammunition for a final assault.
Officials said the Army foiled an infiltration attempt along the Line of Control (LoC) at Jammu and Kashmir's Tangdhar on Wednesday. Security personnel are on the lookout for the two militants that attempted to cross the border.