No response from Pak to retrieve bodies: Army

The Indian army on Sunday said that Pakistan did response to its offer of retrieving the bodies of intruders, who were killed when it foiled an attack by Border Action Team (BAT) in Keran sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Saturday.

“Indian Army offered Pakistan to retrieve the bodies of their men killed at Keran sector yesterday but there is no response from them,” Srinagar-based defence spokesman, Col Rajesh Kalia, said.

Pakistan Army had been offered to approach with white flag and take over the dead bodies for last rites, Indian Army sources said here.

Come with white flags, take bodies back: Army to Pak

Lying in the open in a forested area near the LoC, the bodies could be of terrorists or Pakistan SSG personnel killed in action.

While the Army is in possession of the photographs of at least four bodies, the number could be more as the area is difficult to approach. Army sources said 5-7 persons were probably gunned down.

On Saturday, the army had claimed to have killed seven militants after foiling a BAT action along the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran sector.

“In the last 36 hours, number of attempts to disrupt the peace and target the AmarnathYatra were made in Kashmir. A BAT attempt was made on one of the forward posts in Keran sector. It was foiled by alert troops resulting in the killing of five to seven regulars/militants,” Col Kalia had said.

Defence experts say that Pakistan's Special Services Group (SSG) forms the core of the BAT, along with terrorists from Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad outfits, for trans-LoC action up to a depth of one to three kilometres.

The BAT camps, unlike the largely make-shift terror-training camps and launch pads across the LoC, consist of around 40-50 Pakistan Army regulars and commandos being specially trained for cross-border raids and ambushes, experts said.

On Friday, General Officer Commanding (GoC) of Srinagar-based Chinar 15 Corps, Lieutenant General K J S Dhilon, had stated that infiltration attempts were on the rise on all traditional and non-traditional routes as well. He had also stated that launch pads were full of militants across the LoC and they (militants) are waiting to sneak in.