Ultra killed as army foils infiltration bid along LoC

A militant was killed in a gunfight with the army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kasturi Naar area of north Kashmir's Barmualla district on Sunday as the army foiled an infiltration bid.

Sources said the gunfight erupted after the army personnel spotted three to four militants infiltrating and challenged them.

“The group of militants after being challenged opened fire triggering off a gunfight,” they said and added that one militant was killed in the retaliatory action by the army.

Reports said additional reinforcements were rushed to the encounter site and entire area has been cordoned off to flush out the rest of the militants.

The latest gun battle came a day after three militants were killed in a similar encounter on Saturday on the LoC in Tanghdar Sector in Kupwara district, also in north Kashmir.

It is pertinent to mention here that on Thursday Director General Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan spoke after the two countries celebrated their independence day.

On August 16, an Indian Army statement said that the Pakistani commander promised that his army “would take prompt action against (any) move of inimical elements in proximity to the LoC and respond to information shared by the Indian side, thereby facilitating conduct of anti-terrorist operations.”

A senior army officer said that despite the assurances from the Pakistani side, the infiltration attempts continue along the LoC.

“There is pressure on militants waiting on launching pads across the LoC to infiltrate due to depleting number of ultras in the state in view of successes achieved by the security forces,” he said.

"Intelligence inputs suggest that around 200 to 250 militants were waiting for an opportunity to infiltrate into our side at various launch pads along the LoC from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir side,” the officer said and added that the army expects more infiltration attempts and coming months would be tough from the security point of view.