Ladakh: At least 20 Indian soldiers were martyred in the violent face-off with troops of China’s People’s Liberation Army in Galwan valley, eastern Ladakh, on Monday night, the ANI quoted government sources as saying.
The toll could go up further, it added.
The Indian soldiers were reportedly attacked with barbed wire clubs, media reports said.
Indian intercepts have revealed that Chinese side suffered 43 casualties, including dead and seriously injured, sources confirmed to ANI.
The editor-in-chief of Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times confirmed that China too had suffered losses and added that the Indian side shouldn’t be “arrogant and misread Chinese restraint as weakness.”
Earlier in the day, the Indian Army had confirmed the death of Colonel Santosh Babu, Commanding Officer of 16th Bihar Regiment, and two jawans in the Monday night altercation. A report in News18 suggested that no firearms were used.
This is the first time after 45 years that Indian lives were lost along the India-China border. In 1975, four jawans of Assam Rifles had died in an ambush at Tulung La in Arunachal Pradesh.
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