5 Jaish men shot dead on LoC

The boat-borne militants on a suicide mission were intercepted near the Jhelum in Baramulla

Soldiers at the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch. File photo for representative purposes only.

The security agencies on Monday aborted a “suicide mission” of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit by killing at least five boat-borne militants near Jhelum river on the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla’s Uri Sector.

A top police official said the militants’ bodies were strapped with explosives, indicating the Jaish plan to carry out “the suicide mission attack as soon as possible after the group’s entry into the Valley.” Some bodies were badly mutilated because the explosives went off during the exchange of fire, said a police source.

The militants had shaven their bodies, as “fidayeen do before such operations”, and “no eatables were found from them” in Uri’s Dulanja area, “indicating close proximity of the target.”

“A major infiltration bid by a fierce fidayeen (suicide) group has been foiled and a major tragedy on Army Day and in the run-up to Republic Day,” said Army Brigadier Y.S. Ahlawat.

The Army said it spotted the movement of militants during the intervening night of January 14-15 and an inflatable boat on the banks of the Jhelum. “These militants tried to travel in the boat towards our side. In the ensuing encounter, five militants were killed. Four bodies were recovered so far. One body was lying on the banks where the boat was used,” said Brigadier Ahlawat.

Weapons and ammunition recovered, “included four AK-37s, three under-barrel grenade launchers (UBGL), 38 UBGL grenades and 23 normal grenades.”

“This was 2018’s first infiltration bid that was successfully aborted. The Army pledges to continue to foil such nefarious Pakistani designs in the future too,” said the Army officer.

Sources said both the police and the Army had prior information of a possible attack by JeM and Border Action Team (BAT) on Army Day in J&K. “The troops were on high alert,” said a police official.

Director General of Police (DGP), J&K, S.P. Vaid said the police and the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) “were also part of the operation.”

Bus service hit

The incident impacted the cross-LoC bus service.

An official said the service was suspended in Jammu’s Poonch due to “security reasons.” Over two dozen passengers were scheduled to cross over to Rawalakote in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The Srinagar-Muzafarrabad bus service was also halted in the wake of the militant killings in Baramulla.