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Army foils intrusion bid on LoC in Poonch, Pakistani guide killed
Army gunned down a terror guide and foiled an intrusion bid along the 744-km-long Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district; he used to guide Pakistani terrorists in small groups into this side of the LoC
The Army gunned down a notorious terror guide and foiled an infiltration bid along the 744-km-long Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district.
The slain guide was identified as Mohammad Arif of Matrian village in Khuiratta area of Pak-occupied-Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
Defence spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand said, “Late Thursday, Pakistani terrorists attempted an infiltration bid along the LoC in the Bhimber Gali sector. However, the alert Indian troops successfully foiled the infiltration attempt and killed a terrorist.”
The body of the terrorist along with weapon and ammunition was recovered, he added.
Intelligence officials said the slain terrorist was actually a notorious guide of the terrorists.
“He used to guide Pakistani terrorists in small groups into this side of the LoC. Late Thursday, he was again guiding a group of three to four terrorists into Poonch when alert soldiers noticed the movement and opened fire killing him on the spot. The group immediately fled back to the PoJK,” said an intelligence official.
He informed that Arif was responsible for the successful infiltration of small groups of terrorists into J&K for nearly two decades.
Pakistan’s ISI had been actively supporting him, he added.
It may be recalled here that the Army lost nine soldiers, including two JCOs, on October 11 and 14 at the Chamrer and Nar Khas forests in Poonch district in two separate encounters with terrorists. These were the worst casualties suffered by the Army in the recent years.
DGP Dilbag Singh suspected them to be part of the freshly infiltrated group of terrorists and hoped that the RR troops will account for them.
Since October 11, the Army has launched a massive search and combing operation in Nar Khas, Bhata Dhurian and Chamrer areas of the district.
Intelligence sources said the slain guide was earlier a havildar in the Pakistan army and after retirement was commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba launch pads located in Dharkundi-Khuraitta.
“He was well versed with the terrain and guided Pakistan’s Special Services Group (SSG) into the Indian territory in Nowshera in October 2018 where BAT action was carried out. On his retirement from the Pakistan army, Arif was given land in Khuraitta where he raised some structure and housed terrorists before launching them into India,” they said.
“He was the main conduit between the ISI and terror outfits and received big money from the Pakistan army. His family is settled in Dubai,” they said.
“Arif was the main guide for the LeT in the area and was in-charge of terror launch pads in Tarakundi area. He has two sons who are settled in Dubai. After retirement from the Pakistan army, he was working for the ISI,” said sources.
On October 22, 2018, Pakistan’s BAT had ambushed an Indian Army patrol along the LoC in the Sunderbani area of the Nowshera sector killing Havildar Kaushal Kumar of Nowshera, Lance Naik Ranjeet Singh of Doda and Rifleman Rajat Kumar Basan of Pallanwala.
The intruders had come inside the Indian territory and ambushed the patrol. The soldiers had also retaliated eliminating two BAT members.
