Yet another major infiltration bid foiled in JK

Srinagar, June 11: Troops foiled yet another major infiltration bid in north Kashmir, a defence ministry spokesman said today.

Troops guarding borders had laid an ambush near the Line of Control (LoC) at Kalbani Nar in north Kashmir last night, he said.

However, in the wee hours today, troops noticed a group of five militants sneaking into this side from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), he added.

When challenged and asked to surrender at a particular place on this side of the border, the infiltrators, armed with automatic weapons, opened fire. The fire was returned and the fierce gun battle continued for about half a hour.

Later, on search of the area, there were blood marks on the ground which suggested that one or two militants had got injured in the firing, he said, adding that one AK rifle, two magazines and 57 rounds of AK ammunitions were recovered from the site.

A massive hunt has been launched to nab the militants in the forest area. However, it is believed that they might have escaped back into POK> More than two dozen infiltration attempts were made by the militants from POK in the state since January this year after snow melted on the higher reaches. About 40 militants were however, gunned down by the security forces immediately after they sneaked into this side. However, several militants had managed to enter the valley.

Official sources said the infiltration from the across the border was high as compared to previous years.

A senior army officer said a large number of militants are waiting in different camps near the border, waiting for an opportunity to sneak into this side.

UNI