Uri-style attack foiled in Kashmir

Three heavily armed militants were killed in an encounter that erupted after they attacked an army installation in north Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara district on Thursday.

Elsewhere, at least four militants were killed as the army foiled three infiltration attempts along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir.

The army confirmed it killed three militants who had attacked the camp of the 30-Rashtriya Rifles at Langate in Handwara, 75 km from here, around 5 am.

“In an Uri-style attack, terrorists tried to storm the army camp in Langate area at daybreak. The terrorists fired indiscriminately on our sentry posts and the jawans who were resting,” commanding officer of  30-RR Col Rajiv Sharang told reporters.  He said the militants were shot dead before they could enter the camp. “Besides, three AK-47 rifles, grenade launchers, food and medicines with Pakistani markings were recovered from the possession of the slain militants. This suggests they were Pakistani nationals,” he said.

Sources said the slain militants were in combat dresses just like the Uri attackers. “These militants were wearing combat dresses and carrying enough weapons and ammunition to inflict maximum causalities on the army. However, due to the alertness of the troops, the militants couldn’t breach the defences of the camp,” a source said.

On September 18, four fidayeen (suicide) militants of Jaish-e-Mohammed had stormed the Brigade headquarters in Uri and killed 19 soldiers, besides wounding 18 others.

Meanwhile, sources said four infiltrating militants were killed after the army foiled an infiltration bid in Nowgam sector along the LoC. The bodies of the militants are yet to be recovered, and a search is on.

Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia confirmed the killing of the four militants.

Militants made two other abortive bids to infiltrate into Kashmir during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday in Nowgam and Rampur in Uri along the LoC. The army said the infiltrating militants were assisted by Pakistani posts who violated ceasefire and pounded Indian forward posts. This was for the first time since India carried out surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir last week.
DH News Service