3 camps destroyed, 6-10 Pak soldiers dead

TNS & Agencies
New Delhi, October 20 

Six to 10 Pakistan Army personnel were killed and three terror camps destroyed in retaliatory action by the Indian Army opposite the Tangdhar and Keran sectors in J&K, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Sunday.

Talking to the media here, he said another terror camp was severely damaged and the retaliation had caused substantial damage to terror infrastructure across LoC.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, he said, was briefed about the retaliatory action. 

Pakistan accused the Indian Army of targeting civilians using artillery guns.  Its Foreign Office summoned the Indian Acting High Commissioner in Pakistan, Gauruv Ahluwalia, and condemned the incident. 

The Indian Army carried out heavy artillery strikes, targeting four terror camps and several Pakistani military posts in Neelam Valley in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“As per the information available with us, 6-10 Pakistani soldiers have been killed and nearly as many terrorists,” General Rawat said. “Three terror camps have been destroyed and on the fourth one also, we have caused severe damage,” he said, adding that according to unconfirmed reports, the number of terrorists killed could be higher. To a question, he said the terror camps destroyed were located in Athmuqam, Kundal Shahi and Jura, and the Army had information about a camp in Leepa Valley too. 

“These are the camps we  have targeted. And people who were supporting them, also the Pakistani posts, bore the brunt of our action,” he said. General Rawat said of late, the Army had received information that terrorists were coming closer to the camps in forward areas. In the past one month, repeated infiltration attempts were made from the Gurez, Keran, Machil, Uri sectors and south of Pir Panjal, he said, adding that Pakistani soldiers were resorting to ceasefire violation to provide support to the infiltration bids.

“We had picked up a definitive signal that some of the terror camps north of Pir Panjal were active. Terrorists had arrived at these camps and that they were likely to infiltrate. Last evening, an attempt was made in Tangdhar to infiltrate...where we retaliated... Pakistan, at the same time, carried out  firing on the post, in which we did suffer. Two of our soldiers were killed and one civilian died too. All this (firing) was done to ensure that they could push in the terrorists,” he said. 

The terror camps opposite the Tangdhar and Keran sectors were destroyed, he added. “They do not want to highlight or project this damage as the world will know that no action has been taken (by them) to curtail acts of terrorism from across the border. They are trying to keep it under the wraps. But, definitely, as and when we get it, we will provide you with more evidence.” 

Mohammad Sidiq, 50, of Gundishot village was killed and  Mohd Maqbool, Yasir and Shafi injured as Pak troops resorted to heavy artillery shelling along the LoC. 

Major attack after balakot

• On Feb 26, India carried out an aerial strike on a Jaish camp in Pak’s Balakot, in response to Pulwama attack
• Pakistan air force retaliated the next day by trying to target military installations but was repulsed

Infiltration bid foiled, says rawat

We had picked up a definitive signal that some of the terror camps north of Pir Panjal were active. Terrorists had arrived at these camps and that they were likely to infiltrate.  —Bipin Rawat, Army chief