3 ultras shot as infiltration attempt foiled in Uri; Pak violates ceasefire

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, September 16

Pakistan violated the ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir after the security forces foiled an infiltration bid and killed three militants, the Army said on Saturday.

The eight-hour gunfight erupted on Saturday morning when joint teams of the Army and the police launched a counter-infiltration operation in the forward area along the LoC at Hathlanga village of Uri in northwest Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

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The operation was launched after the security forces received intelligence inputs regarding the presence of militants in the region. “Three terrorists have been eliminated. While two bodies have been recovered, firing from a Pakistan post in the vicinity of the LoC is coming in the way of retrieval of the third body,” a spokesperson for the Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said. “The Army foiled an infiltration bid along the LoC in Baramulla district. Intelligence inputs from multiple agencies have been received regarding terrorist groups planning to infiltrate from across the LoC. On the basis of these inputs, the anti-infiltration and surveillance grid was tightened in the area and ambushes were sighted,” the spokesperson said.

Alert troops in Uri sector noticed a group of terrorists attempting to cross the LoC at Hathlanga Nala during the early hours of the day, the Army said.

“As the security forces approached the suspected location, the militants unleashed indiscriminate gunfire, prompting a retaliation from the security forces, which swiftly evolved into a full-scale encounter in which one terrorist was neutralised in a two-hour-long gunfight,” the Army said.

“While searching for the other two terrorists, one of the terrorists opened fire from hiding, thus re-establishing contact. The second terrorist’s body was recovered by 12.30 pm,” the Army said.

“The third terrorist was also engaged who was supported by fire from a Pakistan army post at the LoC. The third terrorist fell towards the enemy side of the LoC. While the operation was in progress, a quad copter was flown in to ascertain the whereabouts of the third terrorist. However, the Pakistan army post fired on the quad copter, establishing the Pakistan army’s support in abetting terrorism and assisting terrorists to infiltrate across the LoC,” the Army spokesperson said.

The Army said it recovered two AK series rifles, a pistol, seven hand grenades, an IED, Rs 46,000 (Indian currency), Rs 6,000 (Pak currency) and war-like stores.

“This operation has once again highlighted the nefarious design of the Pakistan army in supporting terrorism,” the Army said.

In February 2021, the India and Pakistan armies reaffirmed the 2003 ceasefire agreement and since then violence and cross-border shelling has completely stopped. However, militants have tried to infiltrate from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir but most of these attempts have been foiled by the security forces.

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