By 11 am, 17 soldiers were confirmed dead and 25 others injured.
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Pointing fingers at Pakistan Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said our western neighbour was a “terrorist state” and should be isolated while BJP leader Ram Madhav said days of strategic restraint were over and suggested that “for one tooth, the complete jaw” should be the policy after the attack. Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, the director of military operations, said he contacted his Pakistani counterpart to convey “serious concerns”. “There are definite and conclusive indications that the perpetrators of Uri attack were highly trained, heavily armed and specially equipped”, he said on his official Twitter.
Another Uri resident Shareef Khan, said he mistook the loud explosions for shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC) – Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), something which was normal till late Nov 2003, when a ceasefire between India and Pakistan provided the much-needed relief from the daily shelling for the residents of this town. The camp attacked on Sunday is close to the headquarters of the Army’s 12 Brigade. “The tents smouldered for hours after they caught fire”. The terrorists carried AK-47s, grenade launchers and a big cache of grenades. Police described the 21-year-old’s killing as a major success in their campaign against separatist militants, but angry mobs protested against his death and attacked police stations, police posts and government buildings.
The sneak attack sent huge columns of black smoke rising into the sky.
“A group of heavily armed terrorists targeted the rear administrative base of a unit at Uri, Kashmir”. The fire also engulfed the nearby barracks, official sources said. Two policemen have also been killed in clashes. “Pakistan should be given a fitting reply”, he said in a statement here.
Pakistan’s military has been informed that weapons found on killed terrorists in Uri had Pakistani markings. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to support Balochistan’s independence has further riled Pakistan’s military and government.
At the time of the attack the 10-Dogra regiment was in the process of moving out and 6-Bihar battalion was replacing them. “Retribution should be quick and severe”.
Twenty-eight injured soldiers were airlifted to a military hospital in the region’s main city of Srinagar, four of them in critical condition, an army officer said.
Within hours, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Army Chief General Dalbir Singh flew to Srinagar.
The Home Minister has postponed his scheduled visit to Russian Federation and the United States in the wake of the attack in Uri and the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.
The CPI-M, which began its two-day Central Committee meet on Sunday in New Delhi, maintained that “for a longstanding solution of the Kashmir problem, political dialogue with all stakeholders as advocated by the all-Party delegation should be initiated without any further delay”.
“Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti laid wreaths on the coffins of the martyred soldiers at a somber ceremony held at headquarters of the Chinar Corps here at Badamibagh”, an Army official said. Protesting residents are clashing nearly daily with security forces in the worst crowd violence since 2010.
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Meanwhile, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, who succeeded Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as the head of the Non-Aligned Movement, also expressed solidarity with the people of India “who have suffered a terrorist attack”.
