Five terrorists killed in Jammu & Kashmir, ceasefire violated by Pakistan on Loc
Srinagar/IBNS: Five unidentified terrorists were gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Shopian district of Jammu Kashmir on Sunday, media reports said.
On Sunday morning, the security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the Reban area of Shopian in South Kashmir based on a tip off about the presence of terrorists in the area, police said, according to a Times of India report.
A gunfight broke out after the terrorists started firing at the search party, in which at least three terrorists were killed, police said. Later, the death of two more terrorists was confirmed, the official added.
In another incident on Sunday, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked heavy shelling and firing from across the Line of Control (LoC) in frontier Kashmir districts of Baramulla and Kupwara.
Defence Ministry Spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia told UNI that Pakistani troops, violating the 2003 ceasefire, fired mortar shells at around 1100 hrs on Sunday, targeting forward posts and civilian areas in Keran sector of Kupwara district.
He said the Pakistani troops also opened another front by resorting to unprovoked heavy shelling and firing in Rampur sector of Baramulla, at around 1240 hrs on Sunday.
The Indian troops retaliated at both the fronts and the exchange of fire was still going on, when the reports last came in. However, they said no one was injured in the shelling.
Col Kalia said the Indian Army is targeting the Pakistan troops' position with high precision.
Pakistan has been violating the ceasefire quite frequently in north Kashmir in the past two months to facilitate infiltration into Kashmir valley, officials said.
''A large number of militants are waiting at launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to sneak into this side,'' they said.
However, they said despite facing all odds, the Indian troops remained on high alert along the Line of Control (LoC) to foil any militant attempt to infiltrate into this side.
On Wednesday last, the Indian Army foiled a major infiltration attempt by a group of terrorists from across the Line of Control (LoC) in the Naugam sector of North Kashmir
The infiltration bid was foiled on the night of June 3 when a patrol party of the Indian army spotted the terrorists trying to cross the LoC, said an India Today report.
On being challenged, the infiltrators retreated taking advantage of darkness and inclement weather.
They left behind their rucksacks with warm clothes, batteries and other equipment, said the report.
There were a total of 646 incidents of ceasefire violation along the International Border (IB) as well as the LoC between January 1 and February 23 this year, an official said.
He added that over 3,200 ceasefire violations by Pakistan's troops were recorded in 2019.
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