The army Wednesday honoured the slain Colonel MN Rai who was killed during fierce gunfight with two slain Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants in Tral area of Pulwama district on January 27.A wreath laying ceremony was held this morning at 15 Chinar Corps Headquarters here where Corps Commander, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Lt General Subrata Saha and senior army officer paid tributes to the Colonel and also to a cop of police’s Special Operation Group (SOG).Colonel MN Rai, who was Commanding Officer (CO) of 42 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), had received gallantry award a day before his death in the gunfight. He was a resident of Varanasi.Lauding the Officer, the GOC told reporters after wreath-laying ceremony that slain was a brave officer who always led from the front. “Col MN Rai always led from the front. In the multiple operations carried out in year 2014 and 2015, he was always in the front line leading his men to deliver exceedingly well,” the top Commander said.He said even on Tuesday, the CO led the operations and due to his quick reaction, the two militants were killed. The GOC said the father of slain militant approached CO and told him that Abid would like to surrender. “But, both the militants rushed out from the house they were in and fired rampantly leading to the gunfight,” he said.He said had not the CO and his team reacted quickly; there would have been many casualties on the part of civilians present including his brother and father.“The supreme sacrifices of these brave men (Colonel and SOG man)) only strengthens our resolve to fight all elements inimical to the security of Kashmir,” the Corps Commander vowed. (GNS)