2 soldiers, 2 porters killed; 3 injured in Baramulla attack

Srinagar, Oct 24: Two soldiers of Rashtriya Rifles and two porters were killed and three others were injured in a shootout in the Butapathri area of Baramulla district in north Kashmir on Thursday evening while a massive operation is underway to track down the attackers.

The incident occurred after an Army vehicle came under fire from hiding terrorists in the area.

The attack took place near the Line of Control (LoC) at Nagin Dhok in the Butapathri area, where the convoy of the 18 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) came under heavy fire.

It has been learned that the J&K Police suspect it to be a case of infiltration near LoC.

“Exchange of fire. A brief firefight took place between #IndianArmy and terrorists in the general area of Butapathri, #Baramulla. Details are being ascertained. #Kashmir @adgpi @NorthernComd_IA,” Chinar Corps-Indian Army said in a post on microblogging site X soon after the incident.

Officials confirmed that the injured soldiers were immediately evacuated to a nearby hospital for treatment and that there have been four casualties.

Sources in the security establishment said that the vehicle skidded off the road after it came under heavy fire.

“Two porters and two soldiers were killed,” they said adding that three soldiers were injured and they have been rushed to a hospital.

The deceased porters have been identified as Mushtaq Ahmad Choudhary of Nowshera Boniyar and Zahoo Ahmad Mir of Barnate Boniyar.

They said that a massive search operation is underway in the area and is being supervised by senior officers of the security forces.

“Additional reinforcement has arrived on the spot and is assisting the already deployed troops,” they said.

The attack on the Army vehicle was the second in J&K since Sunday.

Three days earlier, six construction workers and a doctor were killed after at least two terrorists attacked a housing camp for construction workers building a tunnel.

Those killed were identified as Dr Shahnawaz from Nayidgam, Budgam; Shashi Abrol from Jammu; Gurmeet Singh from Gurdaspur, Punjab; Muhammad Haneef, Faheem Nasir, and Muhammad Kaleem were from Bihar and Anil Shukla from Madhya Pradesh.