He said the ultras opened heavy fire on the search parties resulting in critical injuries to the JCO and four other ranks. All the five soldiers succumbed to their injuries.

The encounter with the terrorists was going on and further details are awaited, the spokesman said.

The officials said there are reports about the presence of a group of heavily-armed terrorists in Chamrer forest after they managed to sneak from across the Line of Control (LoC). Reinforcements have been rushed to the area to plug all escape routes to ensure the terrorists are neutralised, they said.

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