An Army colonel was killed on Tuesday in an encounter with militants near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district of Kashmir, officials said.
Colonel Santosh Mahadik, 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.
Colonel Mahadik succumbed to his injuries.
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 on Tuesday, the officials said.
