Pampore Gunfight: Army loses another officer as encounter continues

Pampore: Another Army officer has been killed in the ongoing encounter in Kashmir's Pampore, taking the number of lives lost so far to six. The encounter has been on for more than 20 hours now.
Earlier, Army Captain Pawan Kumar, another soldier and two personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force had been killed.

Security forces carry the body of Captain Pawan Kumar who lost his life in the gunbattle

The militants attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy yesterday along the Srinagar-Jammu highway and then sneaked into a nearby building - Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JK-EDI) - in Pampore.

Security personnel take position outside the JKEDI building after an attack on a CRPF convoy at Samboora Pampore (PTI)

The 23-year-old officer, Captain Pawan Kumar, who was from Jind district of Haryana, was the head of the Para Special Force team that carried out the operation.
Captain Kumar of 10 PARA was critically injured in a gunfight when he along with a group of special force personnel, after evacuating the entire area, stormed the government building late last night where militants are believed to be holed up.
Around 20 people including government employees who were trapped inside the main building of the complex were evacuated, officials said. About 90 others were taken to safety from nearby buildings including a hostel.

Smoke billowing out of the JKEDI building where militants have reportedly taken refuge

"Three to five militants are still holed up in the complex. More than 115 civilians who were trapped have been evacuated," senior police officer Javid Gilani had said.
Some of the employees who came running from the building complex told that it was 'a narrow escape' for all those present inside the building when militants came in.
Army personnel, whose elite 15 Corps headquarters is located barely 10 km from the encounter site, were rushed to assist the local police and the CRPF.