Indian Army officer, soldier killed in explosion along LoC in Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir Rajouri

Jammu and Kashmir: Two army personnel were killed in an explosion near a forward post along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials familiar with the matter said.

The deceased have been identified as Lieutenant Rishi Kumar and Sepoy Manjit Singh.

The blast took place when an army column was on patrol duty in the Kalal area of Nowshera sector, as part of measures to check infiltration of terrorists from across the border, an official added. 'An officer and a soldier were critically injured in a mysterious explosion along the LoC around 4.30 pm in Kalal area of Nowshera. They were evacuated to Command Hospital in Udhampur in a helicopter but they succumbed to their injuries,' officials familiar with the matter said.

'GOC #WhiteKnight_IA and all ranks salute bravehearts Lt Rishi Kumar and Sep Manjit Singh, who made the supreme sacrifice in line of duty along the Line of Control in Naushera sector on 30 Oct 21 and offer deep condolences to their families,' the White Knight Corps posted on its Twitter handle.

The nature of the explosion could not be immediately ascertained, but officials said it could either be a mine blast or an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by terrorists to target the patrol team.

With the two killings, the number of army personnel killed in Rajouri and Poonch districts this month rose to 11.

Meanwhile, a search operation to track down a group of terrorists hiding in the forest belt of Jammu and Kashmir's twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri entered 20th day on Saturday. So far, a total of nine soldiers, including two JCOs, have been killed in the operation.

On October 24, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist was killed when the security forces came under fire from the hiding terrorists.

The operation in the forest areas in the twin border districts began on October 11.