Two more soldiers of the Indian Army lost their lives as the force foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district in an operation in which five terrorists were killed on Sunday.

With the latest casualties, five soldiers have been killed in the exchange of fire with the terrorists, who had attempted to cross over to the Indian side, in Keran sector of north Kashmir.

The terrorists were believed to have entered the Indian territory from Shamsabari range and were hiding in ‘Gujjar Dhok’ or temporary shelter for nomads in the Poswal area of the sector, officials said.

“In an ongoing anti-infiltration operation in Keran sector of north Kashmir, alert troops braving inclement weather and hostile terrain have so far eliminated five terrorists attempting to infiltrate across the LoC,” the defence spokesman had said earlier.

“Evacuation of the injured is hampered due to heavy snow and rough terrain conditions,” he had said.

Officials had said on Sunday that nine terrorists were killed by the army in 24 hours in the Kashmir Valley.