Infiltration along LOC foiled

The Army on Saturday killing three militants along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, foiling an infiltration bid.

Sources said a group of heavily armed militants, who had crossed over to the Indian side, was spotted by troops in the early hours of Saturday at Toutmari Gal in the Nowgam sector of Kupwara.

“The Army challenged the infiltrators, who opened indiscriminate fire, resulting in a fierce encounter. In the operation, three militants were killed and arms and ammunition recovered from them,” said the sources.

A defence spokesman said the operation is still under way as the Army suspects the presence of more terrorists in the area. “We have launched an operation to trace whether there are any more militants roaming in the area,” he said.

This was the second such attempt foiled by the Army along the LoC in Kupwara. Last week it had killed four infiltrators in the Tanghdar sector of the same district.
Earlier, on May 25, three Army men and a militant were killed in the same sector when militants targeted an Army patrol along the LoC.

An Army official told Deccan Herald that Toutmari Gali, where the infiltrators had sneaked into the Valley, is still covered with snow.

“As the melting of the snow ends on the LoC in peak summer, the militants try to make the most of the difficult terrain by sneaking into Kashmir. With the summer at its peak, the militants have found different ways of entering the Valley, from Kupwara to Baramulla,” he said.