Army's Tweets Reveal Tug-Of-War Over Who Killed Terrorists In Pampore

New Delhi: Three tweets posted by the army on the attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pampore on Saturday, in which eight paramilitary soldiers were killed in an ambush by terrorists, betray a nasty battle for credit that allegedly erupted between the security forces after the encounter.

In its first tweet, the army claimed its troops had killed the two terrorists who had opened fire on a bus in which a contingent of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was travelling.

#JKOps Army kills two terrorists who fired upon CRPF convoy at Pampore, Kashmir Ops in prog. InjuredCRPF personnel being attended to @adgpi

- NorthernComd.IA (@NorthernComd_IA) June 25, 2016

Fuming officers of the CRPF reportedly complained to the army that some of their personnel arrived after the encounter and took selfies with the bodies of the terrorists. The CRPF also said the army men took away the bodies and the weapons, apparently to claim credit.

A revised message was soon posted on Twitter.

#JKOps Update on Pampore ops. Injured CRPF personnel evacuated to hospital. Two terrorists killed in joint op by security forces @adgpi

- NorthernComd.IA (@NorthernComd_IA) June 25, 2016

The tweet failed to mollify the CRPF officers, who insisted that there was "no joint operation."

"They were wrongly claiming credit for an operation on which they had no clue," the Press Trust of India quotes an unnamed CRPF officer as saying.

The army, reportedly shown videos of its personnel taking selfies, posted another tweet correcting itself.

#JKOps Update on Pampore Ops. Two terrorists killed by CRPF in retaliatory action. Earlier tweet stands corrected. @adgpi

- NorthernComd.IA (@NorthernComd_IA) June 25, 2016

CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad, asked by reporters yesterday on whether the army had played any role in the encounter, said: "Army's 51 RR (Rashtriya Rifles) unit reached the spot after the incident got over."

The army has not officially commented on its tweets.