Jammu: Security forces have killed two terrorists while foiling an anti-infiltration bid on the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, an official said, adding that arms and ammunition were also recovered.
“In a joint operation with J&K Police, the Indian Army successfully foiled an infiltration bid by terrorists in the Nowshera sector. Intelligence input has been received since August 30, indicating the presence of terrorists,” Defence Ministry Spokesperson, Lt Col Suneel Barthwal said in a statement.
“All likely infiltration routes were kept under surveillance. Ground-based and aerial surveillance assets were employed to monitor the area. Area domination patrols were also conducted with greater frequency, deploying troops at key terrain locations to prevent terrorist infiltration,” he said.
“On the night of September 8, at approximately 7.30 p.m., surveillance teams detected suspicious movement of a few individuals in the area. An intense firefight ensued. The exchange of fire continued through the night. UAVs, night cameras, and other surveillance equipment were deployed to keep the terrorists under observation. Two terrorists were neutralised in the firefight,” Barthwal said.
He said that searches were carried out on Monday morning to clear the area of any remaining threats.
A significant cache of war-like stores, including two AK-47 rifles, one M-4 rifle with sight and one pistol was recovered.
“The Indian Army’s swift and coordinated response to this infiltration attempt highlights the synergy between the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Intelligence agencies. Search operations are continuing to completely secure the area. The Indian Army remains alert and committed to defeating any such attempt in the future,” the Defence Ministry Spokesperson said.
Security forces are maintaining a heightened vigil and aerial platforms are being utilised to provide over-watch.
Eight Assembly segments spread across Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts in the Chenab Valley region along with 16 seats in the J&K districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam are going to polls in the first phase on September 18.
Hilly districts of Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur in the Jammu division have witnessed terrorist ambush attacks against the army, security forces and civilians during the last over two months.
After reports suggested that a group of hardcore foreign terrorists, believed to be 40 to 50 in number, are responsible for these attacks, the army deployed over 4,000 trained soldiers drawn from the elite Para commandos and those trained in mountain warfare inside the densely forested areas of those districts.
Terrorists use the element of surprise to carry out ambush attacks and then disappear in the forests of these hilly areas.
The deployment of the army and the CRPF together with the strengthening of the village defence committees (VDCs) managed by local residents, has deprived the terrorists of using the element of surprise to carry out such attacks.
After the security forces started aggressively going after the terrorists both in the Jammu division and the Kashmir Valley, the terrorists are now increasingly being engaged in exchange for firing with the security forces.
“They either get killed during such encounters or remain on the run. This prevents them from surprising the security forces by carrying out sly attacks,” a senior police officer said.
(IANS)
