PM Modi tweeted that we strongly condemn the cowardly terror attack in Uri.
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The rebels sneaked into the base near the town of Uri before lobbing grenades and opening fire with automatic rifles on the fleeing soldiers, an army officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The militants first attacked a front-line base close to the LoC with Pakistan, before moving onto the brigade headquarters at Uri, army spokesman Colonel S.D. Goswami said. “I pray for speedy recovery of the injured”, he said. The region has been witnessing the largest protests in recent years since July 8, following the killing of a militant commander in a gunfight with Indian troops.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and the army chief of staff headed to Uri, roughly halfway between Indian Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar and Islamabad, to investigate the attack.
Singh has called an emergency meeting of top defense officials in New Delhi and cancelled his tour to Russian Federation and the United States.
“Congress President Sonia Gandhi has expressed shock and deep distress over the martyrdom of Indian soldiers in the dastardly terrorist attack in Uri”, a party statement said.
He had informed his Pakistani counterpart of his findings, which linked the attack on Uri to a similar raid in January on an Indian Air Force base in Punjab that India also blames on Jaish-e-Mohammed. “We don’t know which group is involved”, this official added. So far, no militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorists were killed in a three hour gunbattle.
Pakistan denies any role in cross-border terrorism and has called on the United Nations and the worldwide community to investigate atrocities it alleges have been committed by the security forces in Indian-ruled Kashmir.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the two gained independence from British rule in 1947.
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Army officials said the rebels had infiltrated into the Indian side of Kashmir from the Pakistani-controlled part. There can be no doubt that Pakistan has to be called to account for, at the very least, providing sanctuary and more to individuals who openly declare their intention of turning Jammu and Kashmir into a graveyard for Indian soldiers.
