Militant outfits aided by Pakistan Army target soldiers 700 metres inside Indian territory in Pallanwala in Akhnoor
A highly-motivated Border Action Team, comprising members of different militant outfits aided by Pakistan Army, reportedly breached the line of Control in Pallanwala sector of Akhnoor on Tuesday and targeted soldiers 700 metres inside Indian territory.
In the ensuing gunfight, an Indian soldier belonging to the 3 Naga Regiment was killed.
The strength of the heavily-armed Border Action Team (BAT) could not be immediately ascertained, official sources claimed. But the fact that they came so deep into Indian territory, clearly shows they had the backing of the Pakistan Army.
The Indian Army responded swiftly to the attack and launched search and combing operations after raising a tight cordon in the area. This is the second major provocative strike from across the border within a week. On July 16, a BSF jawan was killed in a similar BAT operation inside Pittal post of Arnia sub-sector in RS Pura.
Members of the BAT team came dangerously close to the Pittal post and after taking shelter behind the thick elephant grass and sand bundhs, targeted the BSF jawans inside Pittal post.
Seven others, including four civilians were injured in the attack from across the border. Pakistani Rangers further chose to escalate tension on the border by targeting civilian areas, thus triggering panic among border residents.
Surprisingly, in both the cases, the BSF and the Army authorities tried to underplay the intensity of the audacious strike.
On Tuesday, Ministry of Defence spokesman in Jammu said: “Around 9 am terrorists opened fire on two jawans of the Army in Pallanwala sector at a location approximately 700 metres on our side of the line of Control (loC) in Sunderbani division. One jawan, Naik Mongchon B of Naga Regiment received gunshot wounds and later succumbed to his injuries.”
The official statement was, however, silent on what action Indian soldiers took after establishing contact with the terrorists and whether they (terrorists) retreated inside Pakistani territory or managed to infiltrate into Indian territory without facing any resistance.
Meanwhile, in a related development, BSF soldiers late on Monday night eliminated an intruder while he was attempting to breach the barbed wire fence along the International Border in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district.
According to official sources, jawans of the 68 Batallion of BSF challenged infiltrators after observing their movements and shot one of them.
Following these back-to-back strikes, the Indian Army and BSF jawans have been directed to remain vigilant and foil any intrusion bid from across the loC or the International Border. State police have also activated border patrolling to keep a vigil on the movement of suspicious people in border areas.
The general public and members of village defence committees have also been alerted to help prevent any militant strike from across the border. Intelligence reports have already warned that trained militants are awaiting the first opportunity to sneak into Indian territory from their launching pads close to the IB and loC.