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Army jawan, civilian injured
Sudani among nine dreaded militants killed in Poonch

Excelsior Special Correspondent

RAJOURI, Oct 21: In yet another day of successful operations, Army today gunned down nine militants, mostly foreigners in three separate encounters at Surankote in Poonch and Sunderbani in Rajouri district. A huge quantity of weaponry has been recovered from the encounter sites.

Official sources said troops gunned down five militants including a Sudani after a fierce five hours long gun-battle at Issawali Dhok in Surankote area this evening. An army jawan identified as Sepoy Ishaq Ahmed was seriously injured in the encounter.

Sources said troops of 31 Rashtriya Rifles surrounded Issawali Dhok area at 1000 hours today on a tip off about the presence of foreign mercenaries in the area. Troops opened firing when militants were spotted in a hideout. Militants also used heavy fire arms including assault rifles and lobbed grenades towards the troops in a bid to escape from the spot.

A fierce exchange of gun-battle continued for over five hours in which troops eliminated all five militants, present in the hideout. Bodies of all slain militants have been recovered from the scene of encounter but identity of only two of them has been established as Mohammad Ahmed Sufi and Ishaq Ahmed, both Pakistanis.

Sources said one of the slain militant was a Sudani. All slain ultras were activists of Al-Badar and Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen outfit and were dreaded subversives involved in a series of militant activities across Surankote.

The weaponry recovered from their possession include four AK-47 rifles with 220 rounds, one Rocket Propelled Gun Launcher, three Rocket Projectile Guns, 40 hand grenades, one grenade launcher, one RPG telescopic sight and Rs 67,000 in Indian currency besides other ammunition and explosives.

The injured army Sepoy has been hospitalized where his condition was stated to be critical.

Another successful encounter took place at Bachianwali Dhok in Surankote area this morning. The jawans of 20 Punjab assisted by police liquidated two dreaded militants after an hour long encounter. There was no casualty on army side in the gun-battle.

Bodies of slain militants have been recovered from the spot and handed over to local police. However, they have not been identified so far. Troops recovered two AK-47 rifles and some grenades from the place of encounter, the sources said.

They said before being eliminated, the militants hurled a grenade aiming army column. But, the grenade missed the intended target and fell at a civilian location causing injuries to a civilian. The injured was hospitalised by the army.

Troops gunned down two more militants at Mahdev Gap in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district.

A Defence spokesman said after crossing over Manawar Tawi, two Pakistani militants sneaked into Mahdev Gap where vigilant army troops had laid a trap suspecting infiltration of Pakistan-trained militants.

On being challenged and asked to surrender, the militants opened firing on the army personnel. In the meantime, the spokesman said, Pakistan army also opened heavy firing on Indian positions in a bid to force infiltration of the militants into Indian territory.

However, troops returned the firing effectively and gunned down both the militants after a fierce hour long encounter. Pakistani troops continued firing on Indian positions even after the killing of militants and didn’t allow Indian troops to lift the bodies of slain ultras.

Troops, however, recovered one AK-47 rifle, three Chinese made pistols fitted with silencers, two grenade launchers, 20 grenades one new radio set of Japanese make and a huge quantity of ammunition and explosives. Some more recoveries were expected to be made from militants’ possession after their bodies are lifted from the encounter site, the spokesman said.

He said there was no casualty on army side during the encounter. Bodies of the slain militants were yet to be identified but both of them were stated to be Pakistanis.

With the killings of nine militants, total death toll on militants side’ during last two days in Poonch and Rajouri districts had reached 16. Seven militants were gunned down by army and police at Loran and Surankote yesterday.

India to be forced to maintain more forces in Kargil: Expert

LONDON, Oct 21: As a sequel to the recent Pakistani incursion in Kargil, India will feel compelled to maintain higher force levels in the region and increase troops trained in high-altitude mountain warfare, an international defence expert said today.

The strain on personnel and resources will be keenly felt, given the other pressures faced by the Indian Army not only in Kashmir but also in other regions such as North-East where it is supporting the effort to defeat Naga and Bodo terrorism, Dr John Chipman, Director of International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) told reporters here.

The institute has brought out its annual report ‘The military balance 1999-2000’ which states a substantial infiltration in early May this year from the Pakistani to the Indian side of the Line of Control in the Kargil area of Kashmir took the Indian Government by surprise.

It seems clear that the infiltrators included Pakistani regular forces and Islamic militants who were from both the Kashmir region and Afghanistan, Chipman said. Whatever Islamabad’s political motives might have been, the military objectives were clear. The hope was to dominate the only land route from Srinagar to Leh, which is essential for India to maintain its forces in this part of Kashmir, including its troops on the Siachen border area, Chipman said.

Pakistan’s move to occupy key points on the Indian side of the Line of Control on a permanent basis was a departure from the usual pattern of sporadic raids using Islamic, mainly Kashmiri militants, to carry out bombing and other terrorist acts, he said.

Referring to the Kargil conflict, the IISS report said Indian Government placed strict constraints on its military commanders by forbidding them to conduct land or air operations on or over the Pakistani side of the LoC.

The purpose of this restraint was to ensure as much international political support as possible for India, it said, adding the policy brought important political benefits, but Indian forces suffered greater casualties as a result.

In particular, the conflict might have ended earlier if the Indian Air Force had been allowed to attack the infiltrators’ supply bases, and there would have been less need for the Army to seize mountain heights at 4500-5000 metres above sea level.

A large proportion of the casualties in these operations included the most highly trained men in the force, the report said.

Quoting official sources, the report said, about 450 Indian troops were killed by the time the main fighting ended on July 24, 1999.

These sources also indicated that there was an unusually high percentage of officers among the casualties, it said.

While the combatants’ now explicit nuclear capabilities made no direct difference to the conduct of military operations, it may have encouraged Pakistani boldness in the expectation that the Indian military response would be tempered by a perceived need for restraint.

What is certain, however, is that the nuclear factor exercised the international community. In particular, it prompted intervention by US President Bill Clinton who put pressure on (the then) Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to withdraw the infiltrators from the Indian side of the Line of Control, the report said.

Stating that the direct effect on defence procurement plans is harder to determine, the report said India may now want to improve its capabilities in air delivered precision-guided weapons to improve its ability to pinpoint targets effectively when flight approaches are severely constrained. (PTI)