The Bandipura gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir in which a Major and four security force personnel were killed points to the increasing attempts by militants to cross over from across the border.
Major J.S. Suri was the fourth person of the same rank killed during operations in the State in the past six months. Army sources here said that infiltration attempts from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir was a common phenomenon as militants plan to sneak in ahead of winter.
In the past nine months, security forces killed 65 militants who were trying to make their way in against 60 killed during the period last year, the sources said.
According to intelligence inputs, 300 militants were waiting in camps across the LoC. The pressure points included areas in Gurez, Machhail and Keran. Already infiltration bids and operations had been conducted in the Kupwara and Mendhar regions to flush out militants, the sources said.
3-tier security
The Army had a three-tier security cordon in the region to foil infiltration bids, the sources said. On Tuesday night another operation was launched in Baramullah district. In this operation, the security forces killed two terrorists while they lost a Marine Commando and a gunman of the Rashtriya Rifles. Four security personnel were injured.
Besides Major Suri, three officers who lost their lives in the anti-terror operations in the State since this March were Major Mohit Sharma (March, Hafruda forests, Kupwara), Major R.V. Ramani (June, Kupwara) and Major Akash Singh (September, Mendhar).
