The body of martyr Mohd Naseer (inset) being taken to a Rajouri morgue on Saturday. PTI

Rajouri/Srinagar, July 15

A jawan was killed in sniper fire by Pakistani soldiers at a forward post along the Line of Control (LoC) in Tarkundi sector of Rajouri district, while the security forces gunned down three Jaish-e-Mohammad militants in a forest area of Tral in Pulwama district today.Around 1 pm, a Pakistan army sniper targeted Lance Naik Mohammed Naseer, who was manning 639 forward post at the LoC. Naseer died on his way to a nearby Army medical centre. The soldier was posted with 15 JAK LI and was a resident of Ajout village in Poonch district. He is survived by his wife, Wasim Akhter.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)“The brave soldier attained martyrdom when Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked firing on an Indian forward post around 1.30 pm. The nation will always remain indebted to him for the supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty,” said defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Mehta. The unprovoked firing by the Pakistan army comes amid heavy losses suffered by it following strong retaliation by the Indian Army over the past few months.After the killing, the Indian Army opened heavy mortar shelling on Pakistan army’s forward posts opposite the Tarkundi sector around 3 pm. The exchange of fire lasted till 5.15 pm.Meanwhile, in Tral’s Wantnar Satoora forest, 60 km from Srinagar, a gunfight erupted during an anti-militancy operation around 5.30 am. “Militants fired from a cave hideout, triggering a gunfight. In the initial exchange of fire that began around 7.30 am, two militants were killed,” a police source said. The third militant entered the cave hideout. “He kept firing from inside and it took time to neutralise him,” a senior security official said.DGP Sheesh Paul Vaid said three militants were killed in the gunfight. “Of the three, two are locals and one is a foreigner,” a source said. Two of them have been identified as Pervaiz Ahmad Wani of Pahoo Pulwama and Mehraj-ud-Din. One of them had joined militancy last month.Sources said the killing of three JeM militants has dealt a blow to the outfit, which is trying to strengthen its base in south Kashmir. There were reports of clashes in the neighbouring areas during the anti-militancy operation. —  TNS