Why is the army base at Uri so vulnerable?

Bengaluru, Sept 19: Intelligence Bureau officials say that the Uri attack was a result of a fresh wave of infiltrations from across the border. In the past month, there were reports from the IB that several militants had taken advantage of the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir and infiltrated.

However, in the case of the Uri attack, officials say that these were fresh infiltrations and terrorists had come with the specific intention of targeting the army base at Uri.

The army base at Uri has always been vulnerable to attacks. In December 2014, an attack near Uri had killed 8 soldiers and 4 policemen. Sunday's (Sept 18) attack once again demonstrated how vulnerable this area is to terrorist attacks.

According to the army, the attack was not on the 12 Brigade headquarters, but on the rear administrative base which is close to the brigade. This area is where the army units deployed along the Line of Control leave their non-operational stores behind.

The number of troops at the rear is always minimum and there are few personnel who look after the stores.

According to former GOC 15 Corps in Kashmir, Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain the rear forms part of the garrison as maximum troops remain ahead. "Such places very vulnerable," he also said.

Infiltrations into Uri have also been a concern. This base can be approached from three sides of the Line of Control. One entry point is in fact just 6 kilometres away from the base. Moreover, this base is also under observation by the Pakistani army posts which are positioned higher up on the mountains.

OneIndia News