Jammu Srinagar

5 Army men killed in mine blasts
SRINAGAR, June 18 — Five security personnel, including a Rashtriya Rifles Captain and two militants, were killed and 19 others wounded as militants blew up two Army vehicles and attacked a police post in Jammu and Kashmir since last evening.

5 posts recaptured
JAMMU, June 18 — The Army today recaptured five main posts in Tiger Hills Tololing Ridge and killed three Pakistani soldiers and five infiltrators, while intense gunbattles were on in Batalik and the Mushkoh valley in the Kargil Sector, top defence sources said.

Jammu bids adieu to brave son
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, June 18 — The body of Major Ajay Singh Jasrotia, who has killed while reclaiming a post in Batalik, was cremated here today with full military honours. Senior army officers, Cabinet Ministers, officials of the state administration, the BSF,state police and a number of political leaders belonging to the Congress, the National Conference and the BJP were present when the pyre was lit.

Major Jasrotia belonged to a family of war heroes. His grandfather, Lt. Col. Khajoor Singh, saluted the coffin of his grandson when it arrived here from Srinagar yesterday. Lt. Col. Khajoor Singh had retired from the J&K Rifles. He said: "I am proud of my grandson who laid his life while fighting the enemy." He said Ajay's great grandfather had seen action in the Gilgit long back.

Major Jasrotia's father, Mr. Arjun Singh Jasrotia, is DIG, BSF and has served in Jammu and Kashmir for many years.

He was commissioned in the Army in 1996 and had received training in allied commando courses. Initially he had been posted in the North-East. Later he was transferred to militancy-infested area of Kupwara in Kashmir. He and his company carried out a series of anti-insurgency operations in Kupwara for the past three years. He was posted to Gwalior, a peace station, to allow him and his men to take rest. Before he could join the new assignment orders came to him and proceed to the Kargil-Dras belt.

Since he was considered an ace para commando he was deployed in difficult hilly terrain of Batalik where he was killed while fighting Pak soldiers and infiltrators. Before he laid down his life along with Havildar Udham Singh and Granadier Naresh Kumar, Major Jasrotia inflicted heavy casualty on the Pak infiltrators to pave the way for his men to recapture a post.

Meanwhile the mortal remains of Lance Naik Harish Pal, rifleman Rakesh Kumar of 13 J&K Rifles and Naik Pawan Kumar, Lance Naik Ghulam Mohd of 12 Jammu Kashmir Light Infantry were received at the Jammu airport here today.

Senior army, police and civil officers were present to receive the bodies of these soldiers.

Wreaths were placed on their coffins on behalf of the Goc-In-Chief Northern Command, Corps Commander and other senior officers. The bodies will be carried to their respective villages for cremation.

5 Army men killed in mine blasts

SRINAGAR, June 18 (PTI) — Five security personnel, including a Rashtriya Rifles Captain and two militants, were killed and 19 others wounded as militants blew up two Army vehicles and attacked a police post in Jammu and Kashmir since last evening.

Four Army personnel, including the Three Sector Rashtriya Rifles Captain, were killed and 10 others critically wounded in two powerful landmine explosions on the Srinagar-Leh national highway in the wee hours today, official spokesman said here.

He said the landmines, laid by militants on the highway near Prang-Kangan, 40 km from here, went off when a road opening patrol of the Army was on the move to clear the road for a Kargil-bound Army convoy.

An Army vehicle was blown up and four jawans were seriously wounded in the first explosion at around 6 a.m. As reinforcements reached the site, militants detonated another mine blowing up another vehicle, killing the captain two jawans of Five Rashtriya Rifles and a jawan of the Army Supply Corp besides seriously injuring six others, he said.

The spokesman said the injured were hospitalised and their condition was stated to be critical.

Meanwhile, the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit has claimed the responsibility for the blasts.

Militants also abducted a special police officer, even as a militant was arrested and three hideouts were smashed by the security forces in the state during the period, the spokesman said.

Homage paid to Lance Naik
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, June 18 — Officers and jawans of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JKLI) bade a tearful farewell to Lance Naik Ghulam Mohammad Khan, who sacrificed his life fighting intruders in Kargil on Wednesday.

The body of L/Nk Ghulam Mohammad Khan, of the 12th Btn of JKLI was brought at the JKLI Regimental headquarters, Rangreth, on the outskirts of Srinagar this morning. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, Chief Secretary, Ashok Jaitly and the Minister of State for Home Mushtaq Ahmad Lone were present. Later the body was taken to his home village, Narabal near Sopore in Baramulah district. The Minister of State for Home Mushtaq Ahmad Lone accompanied the body to the native village.

As the body of L/Nk Ghulam Mohammad Khan was kept at the Regimental headquarters here, Kuldeep Singh, Junaid Khan and Ram Prakash offered special prayers. JKLI has lost 17 personnel so far in the five-week-long "Vijay Operation".

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister lauded the commendable role of security forces engaged in the operations in the Kargil sector.

"Referring to the sacrifices made by the armymen in the Kargil operations, Dr Farooq Abdullah said: "We are losing brave soldiers and officers in the futile exercise".

He said Rs 2 lakh and a job each would be given to next of kin of the soldiers killed while fighting the enemy.

5 posts recaptured

JAMMU, June 18 (PTI) — The Army today recaptured five main posts in Tiger Hills Tololing Ridge and killed three Pakistani soldiers and five infiltrators, while intense gunbattles were on in Batalik and the Mushkoh valley in the Kargil Sector, top defence sources said.

Indian troops, who had moved to Tololing ridge at 5,000 metres last night, were engaged in fierce gunbattles to dislodge the intruders from the heights in Batalik and the Mushkoh valley, the sources said on the phone from the Northern Command headquarters at Udhampur.