Indian Army says can’t rule out more infiltration bids along LoC in Kashmir. As per the latest reports, air traffic operations have resumed at the airport. No Indian posts were affected by the firing, which the army described as a violation of the 2003 ceasefire agreement.
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The Indian Army has said it has recovered arms, ammunition and food and medicine packets with Pakistani markings during the combing operations at the military base in Uri.
While bodies of militants have been spotted almost 300 meters short of the Line of the Control, a search is on in neighbouring areas to find out if there are more casualties on ultras’ side, official sources said.
One soldier was killed in a separate anti-infiltration operation in the Naugam sector of Kupwara district in north Kashmir, the army said. The sources said a search operation was being conducted thoroughly in both the areas which is densely forested.
Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, while exclusively talking to The Nation, said the prime minister’s tone and tenor, during the course of his interaction with world leaders, was reflective of his commitment to the cause of the Kashmiri people suffering at the hands of the Indian troops and yet refusing to accept Indian hegemony against their will.
Pakistani and Indian military officials on Sunday established contact on hotline after militants killed at least 17 Indian troopers and injured over 20 others in a suicide attack on an Indian military base in Indian-controlled Kashmir, reports said.
The infiltration bid was made days after the bloodiest attack by four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists on the Army camp in Uri which had claimed the lives of 18 soldiers. A senior army officer told Reuters that Indian forces had killed between eight and 10 members of the group and had set out to retrieve the bodies.
Army sources said that there were 12-15 heavily armed militants in the group which was challenged by the troops 10 Dogra regiment and 17 JAK Rifles leading to the gun-battle.
Secretary Kerry’s reaction was brief and also included a reference to Sunday’s militant attack in Uri.
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Meanwhile, the Western Army Commander Lt. Gen. Surinder Singh, on Tuesday visited border areas of Jammu, Samba and Kathua and emphasised on the need to ensure high degree of alertness. “Action is not taken after making announcements”, he said. “The prime minister and Secretary Kerry also stressed the need for restraint in nuclear weapons programmes”, he said. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have fought three wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.
