LoC twin blasts: Army man killed, Major among 7 injured

An Army man was killed and seven others, including a Major, were injured in two different explosions along the Line of Control in Poonch district.
“A patrol party of Army was targeted by an IED at about 8.30 am along LoC Gambhir battalion area,” Defence spokesperson Col Manish Mehta said here.
He said in the blast, an army man was killed and three others sustained injuries. “The injured army men were admitted to the Military hospital for specialized treatment”.
A combing and search operation was launched in the area following the incident.
The deceased army man was identified as Sepoy Shanker Singh and injured as Lance Naik Mohinder Singh, Sepoy Shamveer and Sepoy Surinder Prasad.
Sources said the IED was planted by suspected militants backed by Border Action Team (BAT) of Pakistan Army in a foot track going to a forward Post in Tarkundi forward belt along LoC.
“During the switching over the units from old unit of 20 Jat to new unit of 6 Rajput, the IED was exploded through remote control to target troops,” they said.
They said the modus operendi is similar to the IED attacks that took place along LoC in 2013 in the State.
The injured troopers were rushed to the Military hospital for treatment. However, Shanker Singh succumbed to his injuries while other Indian soldiers were undergoing treatment. The critically injured Mohinder Kumar was referred to Udhampur Command Hospital for specialized treatment.
While the searches along the LoC were intensified with the deployment of additional troops, another IED was triggered using remote control leading to critical injuries to four troopers including a Major.
Though the PRO Defense claimed that it was an accidental explosion which left four soldiers wounded as they unintentionally stepped on a landmine, sources said, the second IED was triggered by BAT team.
Sources said that feet of Lans Naik Sukhvinder Singh was blown up in the explosion. He belongs to 7 Sikh regiment and the injured Major is from 66 Engineering Regiment. The third injured trooper was identified as Sepoy Ajay Partap of 66 Engineering Regiment while the identity of the fourth injured was yet to be ascertained.