India said on Tuesday its soldiers had blocked an attempt by suspected militants to cross the border near the town of Uri, the site of the recent attack on its brigade headquarters.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, in an official statement quoting Foreign Press Secretary Yasuhisa Kawamura, said, “The Government of Japan strongly condemns the terrorist attack on the Indian Base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, and extends its honest condolences to those who lost their lives and their bereaved families, and expresses its heartfelt sympathy to those who were injured”.
India’s DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh has said all the four killed terrorists were foreign terrorists and had carried with them items which had Pakistani markings and that initial reports indicated that they belonged to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group. “One soldier was killed and the operation is going on”, he said. They say there was very little possibility of militants crossing over. This is the third security review meeting Singh has chaired since the Uri attack and the situation in the border areas of Punjab and Gujarat was also discussed, officials said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif brought up the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), saying peace and normalization of ties between Pakistan and India can not be achieved without a resolution of the dispute. Most people in the Indian-controlled portion favor independence or a merger with Pakistan.
Earlier today, Indian and Pakistani troops allegedly exchanged fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector, Indian army officials claimed.
“We are scared due to the hoisting of red flags on Indian positions. whenever it was done in the past, firing started”, villager Muhammad Rafique told The Associated Press from the Khalana valley.
According to the Indian Army, infiltration attempts from across the border with Pakistan have increased this year in comparison with the past three to four years.
Islamabad denied involvement in the attacks.
The protests, and a sweeping military crackdown, have all but paralyzed life in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
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The assailants were killed, but there were more casualties on the Indian side.
