Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, July 19: Army today foiled a major infiltration attempt by militants in Gurez sector in North Kashmir on the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and killed a militant.
General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Kupwara based 28 Division of Army, Major General Lalit Pandey said: “Army troops noticed the movement of a group of 3 militants who were trying to sneak in at Pant Post on the LoC in Gurez sector last night. We challenged them and opened fire killing one militant while another one was injured and third one fled back to Pakistan under the cover of darkness.”
Army has launched a massive operation in the area to ensure that no member of the group has managed to sneak in. The GOC, however, said that it was only a group of three militants that tried to sneak in.
The Army commander said that militants have adopted a new strategy of sending smaller groups first and if they manage to infiltrate, it is being followed by infiltration by bigger groups.
The General said that Army along the LoC is on high alert to foil any attempt by the militants to infiltrate.
He added that there are 350 militants waiting on the launching pads on the other side of the LoC opposite to Tangdhar, Keran, Macchil and Gurez sectors in North Kashmir.
According to Army sources, militants are desperate to fill the void created by successful operations in Kashmir valley during which several top commanders were killed during past two years.
A Srinagar based Defence spokesman said here today that alert Army troops deployed on the LoC in the Gurez Sector of Kupwara foiled a major attempt of infiltration by the terrorists, resulting into elimination of one terrorist and injury to another.
The spokesman said that based on specific information from intelligence agencies regarding likelihood of terrorists attempting infiltration in Gurez Sector of the frontline Division of North Kashmir, vigilant troops detected three terrorists moving in the forest area on the out side of Line of Control. “The terrorists were immediately engaged by firing from the post located along the fence. The fire was very effective and resulted in the elimination of one terrorist, while the remaining two managed to escape under the cover of thick foliage. However, one terrorist was observed to be injured”, the spokesman said.
The spokesman further said: “One AK 47 and two rucksucks containing War Like and other administrative store were also recovered from the site.”
The spokesman said that Lt General Gurmit Singh, the Chinar Corps Commander, commended the troops for their dedication and high degree of alertness.
The infiltration attempt comes a day after two policemen were killed in Kashmir while a leading cardiologist was critically injured when militants fired at them in Pampore town in South Kashmir.
Army killed 5 infiltrating militants in Keran sector of North Kashmir on the LoC with Pakistan on July 9. However, the Army could not retrieve the bodies of the dead militants as they were lying in a mined area and the area was under firing range of Pakistani troops.
The Army chief Lt General Bikram Singh visited the North Kashmir’s Keran sector two days ago to assess the situation along the LoC and had a firsthand account of the ground situation. Singh had complemented the troops for their alertness in foiling the infiltration bids along the LoC.
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