Six militants killed along LoC

Kashmir crisis: Army spoils major late night infiltration bid

At least six militants were killed as the army foiled a major infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Uri sector of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Saturday.

A source said troops noticed the movement of a heavily armed group of militants along the LoC, who were trying to infiltrate on Friday night. “When  the troops challenged the infiltrators, they opened fire and in the retaliatory action, six of them were neutralised,” the source said.

According to the army, the forces laid an ambush around 7.30 pm on Friday after receiving specific inputs about the movement of infiltrators. Defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said a search operation was underway to ascertain if other militants were hiding in the area.

The identity of the slain militants was not known immediately as the bodies were yet to be recovered by the army. The encounter comes a day after the army foiled strikes by Pakistan’s Border Action Team (BAT) along the LoC in Uri sector, killing two militants and recovering war-like stores.

On May 21, four militants and three soldiers were killed in a fierce encounter along the LoC in the Nowgam sector of Kupwara district in north Kashmir.

Onset of summer

With the onset of summer, infiltration attempts have increased in the past few weeks.

“With the mercury rising and snow melting in the Valley, the chances of infiltration will increase from the Pakistani side. The army is geared up to counter such threats,” Maj Gen Ashok Narula had said earlier this week. The army also said it recently launched “punitive fire assaults” on Pakistani positions across the LoC, inflicting “damage”.

Another source said several new launch pads have been activated by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) across the LoC and they are making all-out efforts to push militants into India.

“Well aware of the new strategy put in place by the LeT and HM, troops have strengthened the anti-infiltration grid. There is a possibility of more encounters along the LoC in the coming weeks,” the source said.