India sees Pakistan’s hand in plotting the terror attack on an Army camp in Uri. Some items on four slain terrorists have Pakistan markings, clearly showing the ultras belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit based there. Armed with evidences, Director General Military Operations (DGMO) called up his Pakistani counterpart to express “serious concerns” about the incident on Sunday. The camp that came under attack by the terrorists is located not more than two kilometres from the line of Control (loC).
Giving the sequence of one of the worst-ever attacks on an Army camp, DGMO lt-General Ranbir Singh said in a brief statement that “all four killed were foreign terrorists and had carried with them items which had Pakistani markings. Initial reports indicate that the terrorists belong to Jaish-E-Mohammed tanzeem (organisation).” He also said that he spoke to Pakistan DGMO and conveyed India’s serious concern on the attack.
India and Pakistan have a hotline between the two DGMOS and they talk to each other once a week and if need be more often in case of a situation like the present one.
Singh said apart of opening fire from small arms, the terrorists also fired incendiary ammunition which set ablaze tents and temporary shelters. “Out of 17 casualties, 13-14 were caused by fire.”
This camp is not a fighting formation. It is located in the rear of the 12 Brigade deployed on the loC. These rear camps generally have ration and ammunition stores and operate more like a transit camp for soldiers moving to the loC or returning after their tour of duty, officials said.
Four AK 47 rifles and four Under Barrel Grenade launchers along with a large number of other “war-like stores” were recovered from the slain terrorists, the DGMO said.
Singh said the operation for clearance of the area was still in progress and a “very deliberate search” is being carried out of the entire area around the military complex. As such, complete details of the operation are not yet available, he said, adding the “operation is being carried out in a very professional manner”.
Amid reports that Intelligence agencies had warned of a possible attack, he said all the Intelligence agencies are working in close synergy with the security forces and regular Intelligence inputs are received from concerned agencies and necessary action is being taken accordingly.
He said Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag visited the site of operation to have an “on the ground” assessment of the situation. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who also rushed to Srinagar, was briefed by Suhag on the situation there later in the day.
Parrikar and the Army chief are likely to brief the top political leadership, including the Prime Minister, about the present security situation on Monday, sources said adding the future strategy will then be formulated to fight Pakistan backed terrorism.
Moreover, the Army is likely to pump in more troops in Uri and neighbouring areas to plug gaps in the counter-infiltration grid. Two brigades have already moved in restive South Kashmir areas which have seen protests for the last two months since the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani. These brigades were deployed to secure lines of communication like safe passage of convoys of army and para-military forces and conduct area domination exercises in rural areas to deter militants.