Terrorists planned to disrupt Amarnath Yatra, says Army

Srinagar, July 15

A day after an infiltration bid was foiled at the Line of Control (LOC) in North Kashmir, security forces today said three foreign ultras were killed in the bid and “evil design of adversary” to infiltrate the terrorists was foiled.

Terrorists were heavily armed

Brigadier N L Kulkarni, Commander of the 268 Brigade said the terrorists were heavily armed, well trained and equipped with sophisticated weaponry and equipment. In the ensuing firefight, three foreign ultras were killed. A detailed search of the area was carried out. It led to the recovery of a huge quantity of war-like stores.

Addressing a press conference in North Kashmir, senior officers of the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police said over the past few weeks, there had been several intelligence inputs from intel agencies regarding the presence of “terrorists in various launchpads opposite the Keran sector of Kupwara district.

“The inputs were primarily of terrorists, planning to infiltrate and carry out sabotage and subversive activities in the hinterland with a view to disrupting the normalcy in general and the Amarnath Yatra in particular,” said Brigadier N L Kulkarni, Commander of the 268 Brigade.

He said the area on and ahead of the LoC was aggressively dominated by troops for the past few weeks. On July 12, specific input was received about the mixed group of foreign terrorists “likely to infiltrate” through the Keran sector.

Accordingly, several ambushes were jointly laid by the Army, BSF and the JK Police on the intervening night of July 13 and 14, the Army said. Movement of three terrorists was spotted in the area under control of Pakistan Army across the LoC around 3 pm on Sunday.

“The terrorists, taking advantage of thick foliage and poor visibility, sneaked across the Line of Control and started moving towards the fence. The ambush was sprung at an opportune moment and the terrorists were engaged with precise fire well ahead of the LoC fence,” he said.

The top Army officer said the terrorists were heavily armed, well trained and equipped with sophisticated weaponry and equipment. In the ensuing firefight, three foreign ultras were killed.

“A detailed search of the area was carried out. It led to the recovery of a huge quantity of wall-like stories, thus the evil design of an adversary to infiltrate the terrorists across and vitiate the peaceful situation was nipped into the bud,” he said.

The Army on Sunday said three militants were killed after an infiltration bid was foiled at the Line of Control (LOC) in North Kashmir.

Security forces in the past few months have foiled several infiltration bids at the LOC in North Kashmir.