The Indian army continued its operations in the dense forests of the Rajouri-Poonch sector for the ninth day on Tuesday, trying to track down terrorists believed to belong to Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba who have gone to ground in the area.
The Indian army has thus far lost nine men in the long operation, but is believed to have inflicted some damage on the terrorists, killing six of them. However, this number was not confirmed by the army which has now adopted a different tack.
HT learns that Indian Army commanders have been told to wait and tire out the terrorists rather than pro-actively engaging them.
“Casualties to our troops have occurred due to the advantage the terrorists took by operating in pairs of two. This allowed them to continuously change position and engage a larger body of troops, resulting in casualties,” said a top Indian Army commander who asked not to be named.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat visited the area on October 16 to hold discussions with the local commanders of the 16 Corps handling the ongoing counterterror operation.
According to South Block officials who asked not to be named, as many as nine to 10 LeT terrorists infiltrated from Pakistan into the jungles in the border Rajouri-Poonch districts over the past two to three months. While several infiltration bids were foiled on the LoC and along the fence, according to the army commander cited above, it was always clear that the Pakistan-based terrorists, emboldened by the Taliban’s success in Afghanistan, would try to enter India in substantial numbers.
{{/usCountry}}According to South Block officials who asked not to be named, as many as nine to 10 LeT terrorists infiltrated from Pakistan into the jungles in the border Rajouri-Poonch districts over the past two to three months. While several infiltration bids were foiled on the LoC and along the fence, according to the army commander cited above, it was always clear that the Pakistan-based terrorists, emboldened by the Taliban’s success in Afghanistan, would try to enter India in substantial numbers.
{{/usCountry}}The army commander added that instructions have been issued to establish a cordon around the area. It is now up to the terrorists to make a move as they seek to replenish their supplies from nearby villages, therby exposing themselves, he added. “ Jungle warfare requires patience and the instruction to troops is to be cautious and avoid casualties by engaging the terrorists head-on. Since time is not a constraint, we will tire out the terrorists and eliminate them.”
Meanwhile, security forces are continuing to secure civilians, especially migrant workers from other parts of the country, who are being targeted by terrorists. Home minister Amit Shah has been monitoring this process continuously, people familiar with the matter said on a day when the National Investigation Agency took over investigations into six of the killings (thus far this month, 11 civilians have been killed by the terrorists).
Two years ago, under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the two union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh came into existence on October 31, and officials in security forces said they expect efforts by terrorists to target civilians on the one hand, and continue to engage with the troops on another to continue, even escalate in the run-up to the day.