The two Garud Commandos of the Indian Air Force, who were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir today, were part of the first batch of IAF personnel attached to the Army for anti-terror training in the wake of the Pathankot attack.
Official sources said the training of the elite Garud personnel with the Army was part of a range of measures the Indian Air Force (IAF) had initiated to bolster security at all its installations after the terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base last year.
The two squads of Garud personnel, comprising one officer and 13 commandos each, had joined the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps in August for a six month-long "live situation training", the sources said.
"Two IAF Garuds -- Sergeant Khairnar Milind Kishor and Corporal Nilesh Kumar Nayan -- sustained serious multiple bullet injuries and were evacuated to Base Hospital, Srinagar where they succumbed to the injuries," the IAF said in a statement here.
Two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were killed also in the encounter in J&K's Bandipora district.
The IAF said the joint team of IAF personnel and the Army laid a cordon around a house in Hajin village after getting intelligence input that 5-6 terrorists were hiding in it.
The joint team laid a cordon around the house at 4 AM this morning.
The IAF said two terrorists, firing indiscriminately, ran towards the position of the Garud commandos, who challenged them and killed the two terrorists.
In the intense operation, Sergeant Kishor and Corporal Nayan sustained serious injuries and later succumbed to the injuries at the base hospital.
Kishor belonged to Nashik while Nayan was from Bihar.
The Garud commanders are tasked with protecting all critical bases and installations of the IAF across the country.
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