The Army will conduct massive search operations in the dense forest areas of North Kashmir, especially in Nowgam and Gurez, in the face of increased infiltration bids, sources told The Sunday Guardian. There is fear that infiltrators may have sneaked in through these routes while gunbattles were going on with the Army.
The Jammu and Kashmir police too believes that many militants have crossed over to India recently amid the heavy exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani soldiers.
The melting of snow has allowed infiltrators to increase their attempts to cross over the LoC—one soldier and 13 infiltrators have been killed in the past 72 hours, as the Army foiled six infiltration bids. Poonch and Rajouri have also witnessed infiltration attempts.
An Army spokesman said on Friday that they had killed six militants in the Uri sector. Two soldiers have been injured in the combat that is going on for the last three days.
Despite its multi-layered security and fencing with latest surveillance equipments, Uri has been the main route for infiltration in recent times.
Despite its multi-layered security that includes a fencing with latest surveillance equipments, Uri has been the route for infiltration in recent times in Kashmir.
The Army is trying to dominate the LoC this summer. The Northern Command spokesman told the media that 24 infiltration attempts have been foiled by the Army this year. As many as 40 armed intruders were killed near the LoC.
The Army said on 26 May that they killed two Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) members, who tried to kill Army soldiers in the Uri sector of Baramulla. On the same day, six more militants were killed in the Uri sector, when they tried to sneak into Kashmir amid heavy firing.
With the latest inputs that the militants may strike in a big way in Jammu and Kashmir and neighbouring Punjab, the anti-militancy grid in Kashmir is taking no chances. “We have intensified the anti-militancy operations in South Kashmir to push out militants who want to target the Amarnath Yatra or Army convoys on the highway,” a senior police officer told this reporter. He said that they were installing CCTV cameras at important junctures on the highway, besides increasing intelligence. He said that they have reviewed the security set-up on the highway after the recent attack on an Army convoy in Qazigund, in which two soldiers were killed and four others were injured.
Meanwhile, the state government and the Army are working to ensure the safe passage of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in militancy infested South Kashmir.