Infiltrators killed in J&K’s Kupwara planned to disrupt Amarnath Yatra: Army

Army officials said the heavily armed infiltrators were neutralised close to the LoC fencing after being promptly followed by ambush parties who were part of the Operation Dhanush

Army on Monday said the three infiltrators killed on the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran sector of Kupwara district had plans to disrupt peace in Kashmir and disrupt the ongoing Amarnath Yatra.

The killed infiltrators were foreign militants from whose possession heavy arms were recovered. (File)

Sharing further information, army officials said the heavily armed infiltrators were neutralised close to the LoC fencing after being promptly followed by ambush parties who were part of the Operation Dhanush.

“The killed infiltrators were foreign militants from whose possession heavy arms and ammunition was recovered,” said 268 Brigade Keran Sector commander N L Kurkarni while terming the killing of foreign infiltrators a big success.

The successful operation comes in the backdrop of multiple terror attacks and infiltration bids in the UT.

The commander said there were multiple inputs from various intelligence agencies about the presence of terrorists on the multiple launch pads opposite the Keran sector over the past few weeks.

“The inputs were about terrorists trying to infiltrate into the Valley to carry out sabotage to disrupt normalcy in general and the Amarnath yatra in particular. The area near the LoC was aggressively dominated by our troops from the last few weeks,” he said, adding that our intelligence agencies gave inputs, which were further corroborated by the Jammu and Kashmir Police about the mixed group of foreign terrorists likely to infiltrate through Keran sector taking advantage of dense forests and thing under growth around the nullahs.

“Multiple ambushes were jointly laid by army, BSF and the police since the night of July 13 and 14 on the routes of the infiltration, besides we were also maintaining surveillance of the complete area and round the clock high alert was maintained by the troops. On July 14, at 1500 hours a movement of three terrorists was spotted by our own ambushes in the area under the control of the Pakistan army across the Line of Control. Employing multiple surveillance devices the movement of terrorists was continuously tracked,” he added.

The commander said the ambush party engaged the heavily armed terrorists with precise fire ahead of the LoC fence, adding, “In the intense firefight three foreign terrorists were neutralised and detailed search operation of the area led to the recovery of large quantity of war like stores.The attempt to infiltrate terrorists for destroying peace was nipped in the bud.”

Army said the recoveries included three AK-47 rifles, four pistols, six hand grenades and Pakistan-made cigarettes and food items.