Both of them suffered critical injuries during the Kulgam encounter and later succumbed to their injuries. 

Srinagar: In a sad piece of news coming from Jammu and Kashmir, two soldiers from Punjab have lost their lives in the Kulgam encounter. 

One of the martyrs has been identified as a 26-year-old Sepoy Harminder Singh from Badinpur village in Fatehgarh Sahib, while the one is identified as a 28-year-old Lance Naik Pritpal Singh from Manupur village in Khanna. 

Both of them suffered critical injuries during the Kulgam encounter and later succumbed to their injuries. 

The news reached out to their families on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. Sadly, Pritpal Singh had been married only 11 months ago. His wife was excited to celebrate their first Rakhi together and had been waiting for his return, but it all turned into devastation. 

Notably, the Kulgam encounter is a part of Operation Akhal, which has now entered its ninth day on Saturday. It was initiated on August 1 and, so far, it has witnessed heavy exchange of fire. On August 2, the security forces killed two terrorists, including Haris Nazir Dar from Pulwama. 

As of now, nine soldiers have been injured during Operation Akhal, while 2 have been martyred.