2 Indian soldiers & one attacker killed

Pakistani troops on Thursday carried out an attack 600 metres inside the Indian territory in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing two jawans and losing one of their men in the retaliatory action.

One of the attackers was injured in the Indian retaliatory action and his body was extricated under the cover of heavy firing by the Pakistani troops from their posts across the LoC, an Army official said.

The Border Action Team (BAT), which generally comprises special forces of the Pakistan Army and some terrorists, carried out the attack at around 2 pm with the aid of cover fire by the Pakistani troops from their posts, he said.

This was the third BAT action in Poonch this year.

The official said the Indian Army's 'Area Domination Patrol' was "targeted by the armed intruders and exchange of fire occurred."

"Pakistan's BAT team was 600 metres within the Indian side of the LoC and 200 metres from the Indian posts," the official said.

The Indian troops retaliated and in the firefight, two Indian jawans were killed, the official said.

The Indian troops killed one armed intruder, whose body "is within visual reach", he said.

While the firefight was going on, the Pakistani posts resorted to heavy firing, the official said.

"The operations are in progress and heavy exchange of fire is going on," he added. Earlier on Thursday security forces dealt a severe blow to the militant group, Lashker-e-Taiba, when they killed three of its members after a six-hour encounter, which triggered protests that led to the death of a civilian the police described as a "chronic stone pelter".

The civilian, Tawseef Hassan Wani (28), was killed when the forces tried to quell the protests directed against them after the encounter. A police official said he was leading a mob.

"He was a chronic stone pelter and troublemaker with 10 cases registered against him. He had been detained under the Public Safety Act in 2010 and 2016," the official said.

He was known as Chhota Geelani in the area, in a reference to hardline Hurriyat leader S A S Geelani.