The Indian Army killed nine militants, including a commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, in five separate gun battles — four along the Line of Control (LoC) and one in the hinterland of Jammu — over 24 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Eight militants were killed along the LoC where they made four attempts to enter Indian territory from different places.
The ninth militant, a section commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed in Marmat area in the mountain-locked Doda district, 220 km northeast of Jammu.
He was identified as Noor Mohammad Qadeer, the backbone of the outfit in the area. The encounter started at 5.30 am and was over in four hours.
“Combing operations are on in three encounter sites along the LoC in Kupwara (100 km northwest of Srinagar),” said Brigadier Murali Gopalkrishnan of the Army’s Northern Command.
He said all the infiltrators were killed and none made it to the Indian side.
The militants from across the border tried to enter Indian territory through the mountainous and forested belts of Kupwara and Poonch districts.
The infiltration bids are being seen by analysts as a fresh attempt by Pakistan to mount more pressure on New Delhi to talk with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue and to escalate tensions at the LoC and in the hinterland.
{{/usCountry}}The infiltration bids are being seen by analysts as a fresh attempt by Pakistan to mount more pressure on New Delhi to talk with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue and to escalate tensions at the LoC and in the hinterland.
{{/usCountry}}The past two weeks have seen militants mounting attacks in Jammu and Kashmir with grenade explosions and hit-and-run shootouts.