The army on Friday said it had recovered the bodies of two para commandos who had gone missing during a snowstorm while a search operation was being conducted in the Gadole forests of south Kashmir on Wednesday.
Sources said both the armymen were from Bengal.
Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said the slain para commandos were Lance Havildar Palash Ghosh and Lance Naik Sujoy Ghosh.
Sources said Palash was from Murshidabad and Sujoy from Rajnagar in Birbhum.
The two paratroopers had gone missing earlier this week during an operation in the high-altitude forest area of Gadole in Kokernag, prompting security forces to launch an extensive search.
Gadole had seen multiple militancy-related gunfights in the past, leading to speculations that the two might have gone missing during an operation involving terrorists.
The army later put the speculations to rest and said they were caught in a snowstorm during an anti-militancy operation.
The army said the force had lost communication with both, but an operation was launched to trace them.
A senior officer said the body of Palash of 5 Para had been recovered on Thursday, along with a weapon and a rucksack, while Sujoy was found dead in the same area on Friday.
Sources said the terrain where the bodies were recovered had received two feet of snow recently.