SRINAGAR: Subedar Perbhat Gaur and Lance Naik Narender Sindhu of the Army were killed during a gunfight with terrorists in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district Monday — raising the year’s security toll in J&K to 19. The clash broke out after Army, CRPF and J&K police launched a joint search on intelligence about terrorists hiding in Guddar forests.Officials said the terrorists opened fire when challenged. One terrorist was killed in the first exchange. As firing continued, another terrorist was gunned down. Identities of the slain terrorists are being ascertained. According to PTI, one of the slain terrorists was a local, while the second suspected to be a Pakistani known by the code name “Rehman Bhai”.Three Army men, including a Major, were wounded in the shootout and evacuated for treatment, but Gaur and Sindhu couldn’t be saved. The officer’s condition is said to be stable, PTI reported.Kashmir-based Chinar Corps confirmed the two soldiers’ deaths on social media. Of the 19 security personnel killed in J&K operations this year, six have died in Kashmir and 13 in Jammu division.On Aug 13, Havildar Ankit Kumar of 9 Bihar Regiment was killed while fighting armed intruders near the Loc in Uri sector of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district — the third Army fatality in five days in counterterrorism operations.The Uri clash came a day after the Army ended an 11-day offensive in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, where two soldiers — Lance Naik Pritpal Singh and Sepoy Harminder Singh of 19 Rashtriya Rifles — were killed.This was the second gun battle in Kulgam in a month. The district saw one of the longest gunfights in recent years from Aug 1 to 13 in Akhal Khulsan forests after a search party came under fire. Terrorists retreated into dense ravines, prompting a push with drones deployed for aerial scans. Two soldiers were killed on Aug 11 before forces ended the operation 48 hours after losing contact.Security agencies said 18 terrorists have been killed across Kashmir this year since the April 22 Pahalgam attack, including three Lashkar-e-Taiba commanders linked to that strike. The trio was shot dead in Srinagar on July 28.