Indian Army on Monday killed two Pakistan Army ‘intruders’ and foiled their Border Action Team (BAT) attempt along the line of control (LoC) in the Naugam sector in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

An Army spokesman said the intruders were wearing combat dresses like Pakistani Regulars and were carrying stores with Pakistani markings which further reinforced the assessment of them being soldiers.

Advertisement

The Army said the intruders attempted to move in the wee hours by exploiting the thick jungles close to the LoC and were assisted by heavy covering fire of high calibre weapons such as mortars and rocket launchers from the Pakistani posts.

The movement was however detected by the Indian Army troops deployed along the LoC. The firefight initiated by Pakistan was retaliated by the Indian Army and the exchange of fire continued the whole night.

The Army conducted prolonged search operations in the thick jungles and difficult terrain to ascertain the situation, which confirmed elimination of two likely Pakistani soldiers and resulted in the recovery of a large cache of warlike stores. The search operations are still under way in the sector to sanitise the area.

It was also reported that a few other intruders managed to escape across the LoC, taking advantage of the Pakistani firing and adverse weather and visibility conditions. Some intruders were also seen in BSF and old pattern Indian Army dresses as part of deception.

They had intruded well equipped with IEDs, incendiary materials, explosives, and a plethora of arms and ammunition. From the recovery, it was estimated that they intended to carry out a gruesome attack on the Indian Army forward post in Naugam sector.

The alertness and resilience of the Army, who engaged and neutralised the intruders, thus eliminated a likely treacherous attack on the Army forward posts along the Line of Control ahead of the New Year.

“We will ask Pakistan to take back the mortal remains of the deceased Pakistani soldiers since Pakistan did provide full covering fire support to these intruders,” said the Army spokesman.