Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 4: The three militants, who were gunned down along the Line of Control (LoC) in Mukhyari forward area of Sabjian sector in Poonch district last evening, had come fully equipped with huge supply of arms and ammunitions and enough rations to engage the Army in a long battle.
The Army has recovered two AK 47 rifles, one AK 56 rifle, a Long barrel rifle (Sniper), two pistols and one Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL), 2005 rounds of AK rifle, four UBGL grenades, 20 rounds of pistol and five Sniper rounds, besides other items, official sources said.
“From the recovery made from the slain terrorists, it becomes evident that they had come fully prepared for a long haul,” sources said.
They added that the alertness of the Army and their swift action “thwarted” the nefarious designs of the militants to infiltrate and create disturbances in the State.
Apart from arms and ammunition, the militants were carrying enough ration supplies to engage the Army in a long battle.
The eatables recovered from the slain militants included six packets of biscuits, several packets of dry fruits and toffees, four packets of pickles and 11 ready to eat chapattis.
“They were also carrying onions and chilies, two bottles of Mountain Dew and two water bottles”, he said.
The other items recovered from the slain militants included, one pistol holster, a pocket knife, a walking stick, three rucksacks, one sleeping bag, six pair of socks, three blankets, 20 fuel tablets, two bottles of cooking oil, three pair of thermals, one pair of knee cap, one packet of medicine, a lip balm and two lighters.
Yesterday, three heavily-armed terrorists were killed when Army troops foiled a major infiltration bid along LoC in Poonch district. Bodies of all three slain militants have been recovered and they were believed to be Pakistani nationals and affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit.
Sources didn’t rule out the possibility of a couple of militants having managed to retreat to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) during infiltration attempt after their three heavily armed colleagues were gunned down by the alert troops on the LoC.
Troops had spotted movement of the militants through surveillance gadgets and then challenged them, leading to fierce exchange of gunbattle. Troops didn’t suffer any casualties or damage in the operation.
“The killing of three top militants was a big blow to the terrorist outfits and their handlers across the LoC, who had been waiting to push militants into the Indian territory for a long time but alert troops have thwarted their all designs,” sources said but didn’t rule out more infiltration attempts by the militants on the LoC.
The Army Commanders have been maintaining that a large number of militants were camping across the LoC and IB awaiting an opportunity to sneak into this side but alert Army jawans on the LoC and BSF on the International Border (IB) haven’t allowed the infiltration attempt to succeed.
With onset of winter, security forces were anticipating increase in the infiltration attempts on the LoC when visibility will be reduced to very low in view of foggy weather conditions.
“In view of this, Army and BSF have already pressed their winter management strategy into force to foil intrusion bids by the militants,” sources said, adding that a high alert has been sounded by the Army and BSF along LoC and IB respectively.
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