ANANTNAG: The death toll in the overnight anti-terror operation in Anantnag district rose to three on Sunday as one of the two civilians injured in the encounter succumbed to his injuries, officials said.
Abdul Rashid Dar, who was injured in militant firing on Saturday, succumbed to injuries at a hospital here early on Sunday, the officials said.
Two Army personnel were killed and two civilians injured in a fierce gunfight with militants in the Ahlan Gagarmandu forest area of Anantnag district on Saturday, officials said.
The operation to hunt down the ultras continued despite the challenging topography.
The firefight started on Saturday evening during a cordon and search operation that was initiated by the security forces based on intelligence reports indicating the presence of terrorists in the remote Ahlan Gagarmandu forest in the Kokernag belt.
According to officials, a group ofmilitants opened fire at the joint search parties comprising Army personnel, including para commandos, and local police.
In the ensuing gun battle, six Army personnel and two civilians were injured, officials said, adding the injured soldiers were promptly taken to a nearby hospital where two succumbed shortly after arrival.
The slain army personnel have been identified as Havildar Dipak Kumar Yadav and Lance Naik Praveen Sharma.
Reinforcements have been deployed in the area and operations to locate and neutralise the fleeing militants are underway, the officials said.