The attack comes at a time when Indian-controlled Kashmir is grappling with violent unrest.
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Some New York City subway routes were affected by the explosion, which rattled some New Yorkers and visitors on the heels of the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. They were killed during the bloody battle with Indian security forces, reports said.
Vaid described Uri as “an active infiltration route for militants”.
He saluted the soldiers who were martyred in the attack and said their service to the nation will always be remembered.
“I woke up early to the sound of gunfire”.
“We felt it, we heard it, the restaurant went real quiet, the 26-year-old Gonzalez said. Now, the army has stopped the movement of residents here after the attack”.
The last major attack on an Indian military installation was in January when six gunmen entered an air force base in the town of Pathankot in the state of Punjab. Seven Indian security men had died in the attack. However, several suspected militants have been killed along the de facto border.
Within hours, army chief General Dalbir Singh flew to Srinagar and then went to Uri.
“Keeping the situation of Jammu and Kashmir in mind and in the wake of the terror attack in Uri, I have postponed my visits to Russian Federation and the US”, Rajnath Singh tweeted.
No group so far has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack.
“Indian media conveniently ignored the blatant murder of the #Kashmiri people by the Indian Military, where was the outrage?” “BJP workers are getting killed again and again in the state and Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan is responsible for what happens in his native district of Kannur”, said Ram Madhav.
“The days of so-called strategic restraint are over”. If terrorism is the instrument of the weak and coward, restraint in the face of repeated terror attacks betrays inefficiency and incompetence.
“India will not be cowed down by such attacks, we will thwart the evil designs of terrorists and their backers”, President said.
Director General Military Operations Lt Gen Ranbir Singh later confirmed that Pakistani markings were found on the objects obtained from the terrorists, hinting on the involvement of the Pak-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Singh said: “Four AK 47 rifles and four Under Barrel Grenade Launchers along with a large number of other war like stores were recovered from them”. “The United States is committed to our strong partnership with the Indian government to combat terrorism”, he said in a statement. Both claim the Himalayan territory in full.
The Muslim-majority region is divided between India and Pakistan but most people in the Indian portion favor independence or a merger with Pakistan.
A militant attack on an army camp in Uri in December 2014 saw at least nine members of the security forces killed.
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At least 78 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in street clashes with the Indian security forces, who have been criticized by human rights groups for using excessive force including shotguns that fire pellets that have blinded people.
