Officer and Jawan Killed in Blast While Patrolling Near LoC

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An army officer and a jawan were killed in a suspicious blast near a forward post along the Line of Control (LoC) On Saturday, in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, officials said.

The blast occurred in the Kalal region of Nowshera sector, officials said, while an army column was on patrol duty as part of attempts to prevent terrorist infiltration from over the border.

According to them, two army personnel, one of whom was a lieutenant, were badly injured in the explosion and were promptly taken to a nearby military hospital, where they later died.

According to them, the region surrounding the explosion is riddled with landmines put by the army as part of their counter-infiltration strategy.

The cause of the explosion was unknown at the time, officials claimed, but they could not rule out the potential that terrorists used an improvised explosive device (IED) to attack the patrol squad.

Confirming the incident, a defense spokesperson said additional information was pending.