The Army deployed along the line of Control (loC) in north Kashmir has shot dead at least 12 infiltrators in an expansive rugged area after engaging infiltrators belonging to four militant groups at multiple places.
The massive infiltration began in the night of September 24 when dozens of heavily armed militants sneaked in but the alert troops were pre-informed through the effective intelligence network leading to their interception shortly after crossing the fence, Defence sources said.
Hundreds of troops have been deployed to flush out the infiltrators, which coincided with the massive attack on police and Army in the Jammu region. The two incidents took place at a time when India and Pakistan are poised to restart summit talks in New York to end belligerence.
Sources said that mixed group of militants from Jaish-e-Mohammad, lashkar-e-Tayyeba, Al-badr and Hizbul Mujahideen has been intercepted in Keran sector of frontier Kupwara division since the night of September 24. Troops engaged in the operation have confirmed to the authorities that they have seen 10 to 12 bodies of militants in the rugged terrain but none of them has been retrieved. Apart from the human intelligence developed by the security grid along the loC, Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used to track down the infiltrators.
Speaking to mediapersons, General Officer Commanding of Srinagar based XV Corps, lt Gen Gurmit Singh described the attempt as “massive and desperate”. He said that infiltrators were desperate to push in as many terrorists as possible before the winters set in. He said the massive infiltration has been done in response to the impregnable counter infiltration grid established by the troops deployed along the loC.
lt Gen Singh declined to comment on the number of infiltrators. “This is a multi-point operation. I can’t be specific (over the number) till the operation is over,” he said. He said that the operation is going on in a rugged terrain with vegetation, forests and springs.
He said that training infrastructure was intact in Pakistani side of the loC and recently “commanders” of militant outfits have visited the forward areas ostensibly to oversee the massive infiltration from the area.
Defence sources said that to prevent terrorists’ ingress into the hinterland, additional reinforcements were rushed to the area of operations and an effective cordon was established.
“Intermittent firing suggests that some terrorists are still alive and present in the area. Troops deployed in the forward areas and in contact with the residual militants have reported that the dead bodies of 10 to 12 terrorists can be seen by them. The operations are in progress”, they said.
Incidentally, the massive infiltration took place before militants were pushed in the Jammu region to carry out attacks in Hiranager and Samba. Both acts of violence have been carried out at a time when Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan are poised to meet in New York on the sidelines of UN General Assembly. The two leaders are likely to restart dialogue process between the two nuclear states.