Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 21: The Border Security Force (BSF) today foiled major terror attack by repulsing an infiltration attempt of three heavily armed terrorists in Bamiyal sector of Pathankot district, bordering Lakhanpur area of Jammu, killing one and forcing two others to retreat to Pakistan from where they had been launched.
This was second major infiltration attempt from Bamiyal sector this month, the first being on December 30 or 31 in which at least four militants had infiltrated inside the Indian territory and struck at Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Pathankot killing seven security personnel including a Lt Col. All of them were killed in retaliatory action. Total number of militants killed in the operation has been put at six.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the BSF personnel, who were maintaining very high alert along the International Border especially after the recently infiltration attempt, spotted the militants trying to infiltrate into the Indian territory from forward village of Taash in Bamiyal sector of Pathankot in the wee hours of this morning when floodlights were switched off.
“The militants tried to take advantage of switched off lights and thick fog in the border village to infiltrate into the Indian territory but the alert BSF jawans foiled their plot by spotting it when the militants had hardly intruded about 15 to 20 meters inside the International Border,’’ sources said, adding the BSF troopers opened firing killing one infiltrator on the spot.
In the resultant firing, two infiltrators retreated to Pakistan taking cover of fog.
The BSF jawans have recovered body of the infiltrator and found some belongings in his possession. It was being presumed that weaponry in possession of the militants was taken away by two terrorists, who fled back to Pakistan taking cover of dense fog.
“A major terror attack either in Pathankot or Kathua has been foiled with the thwarting of infiltration attempt by the militants,’’ sources said.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had only yesterday sounded a high alert in the country and along the borders following Intelligence reports that the militants could carry out multiple terror attacks between January 23 and 26.
BSF troops have retrieved the body of the militants from the area and have found a slip with something written on it in Urdu. “There are no other belongings on his body,” they said.
“The area from where the infiltration bid was being made is a place where the border fence has been broken due to floods. This is when they were spotted and after a brief challenge the border guards fired. It looks to be a planned attempt to breach the IB,” sources said.
Incidentally, Bamiyal is the same area from where it is widely suspected that the terrorists from Pakistan who perpetrated the IAF base attack in Pathankot had sneaked into the country.
The latest action was done by a trooper of the 132nd BSF battalion.
Sources said this was second infiltration attempt from Bamiyal sector this month, the first being by the terrorists, who had attacked Pathankot air base and were killed after seven security personnel were martyred in the area. On July 27, 2015, three militants had struck at Dina Nagar police station in Gurdaspur district of Punjab and they were also believed to have infiltrated from Bamiyal.
The MHA had recently approved 2000 additional BSF jawans for Punjab sector and 1000 for Jammu sector to effectively guard the borders and plug any gaps to ensure that the militants didn’t manage to infiltrate into the Indian territory.
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