J&K: 17 soldiers martyred in Uri army base camp attack, all terrorists eliminated
The terror strike took place 100 kms from state capital Srinagar, in North Kashmir Uri town near the line of control.
Hundreds of army jawans were sleeping in tents when terrorists threw grenades and started heavy firing on tents, leaving 17 army personnel dead.
“When we heard firing from across the camp, over twenty army jawans rushed towards the safety place. Due to heavy firing many of our jawans could not move from one place to another,” said an army jawan wishing anonymity to IBNS.
"Never saw such an encounter in my life, nor witnessed our soldiers bodies laying on the earth," he added.
Soon after the firing, large number of reinforcement rushed towards the camp along with para commodes, who have been dropped via helicopter inside the camp, to eliminate the militants.
The attack is believed to have been mounted by the terror group Lashkar e-Taiba and backed by Pakistan's spy agency ISI.
This is the highest casualty the army has suffered in a single attack in years.
In January, seven military personnel were killed when six militants attacked the high security Pathankot air base and opened fire.
“After seven hours of gun battle army exploded some parts of the camp and killed all four militants inside the camp. No one could escaped from the camp,” a spokesperson of the army in Srinagar told IBNS on Sunday.
Over 40 army men are injured and many of them are critical, he added.
Following the attack, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has called an emergency meeting on Sunday afternoon.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Army Chief Dalbir Singh are expected to travel to Uri.
In tweets, the Home Minister has also said he has postponed a visit to Russia and the US.
"Spoke to Governor and Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir regarding the terror attack in Uri. They have apprised me of the security situation in the state," Singh tweeted.
Reacting to Sunday's attack, Former J&k Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: "Terrible news from Uri, 17 soldiers killed & many injured. May their souls rest in peace. Prayers for their families as also for the injured.”
Kashmir remains to be tensed as over 80 civilians have been killed in security forces firing and around 12000 civilians and security personnel are injured since July 8 after the death of top Hizb leader Burhan Wani in South Kashmir.
(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri)
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