Militant killed, others retreat; arms haul
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 13: Army today foiled a major Pakistan-backed plot by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) to disrupt Panchayat elections in Jammu by carrying out series of terror attacks as the troops intercepted a group of the militants and eliminated one of them in a gunbattle while others retreated to Pakistan in forward village of Garar in Khour sector of Akhnoor tehsil this evening.
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Large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives left by the militants at the site of encounter including one AK rifle, five pistols and 15 hand grenades showed that the militants had dangerous plans of carrying out terror strikes in Jammu region ahead of the Panchayat elections, whose first phase is scheduled to begin on November 17.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Army had been receiving specific inputs that Pakistan troops under the cover of frequent ceasefire violations were trying to infiltrate heavily armed militants into the Indian territory to carry out terror strikes and disrupt Panchayat elections.
Army jawans deployed at forward village of Nathu Kulian in Garrar area of Khour sector in Akhnoor tehsil of this district observed movement and opened firing in which one of the infiltrating militants was killed while his two to three associates fled back to Pakistan.
“The infiltration attempt was backed by the Pakistan army, which had sheltered militants in the launch pads, close to its installations and tried to push them into this side with large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives. Alert troops, however, foiled the attempt,” sources said.
Slain militant was believed to be an activist of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit.
A big consignment of weaponry has been recovered from the encounter site, sources said. Recoveries included five pistols, 10 pistol magazines, 60 pistol bullets, one AK rifle, two AK rifle magazines with 234 rounds of ammunition, 15 hand grenades and 12 fuses of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
“This huge cache has scuttled the nefarious plans of the terrorists to derail the peace and harmony in the region and disrupt the forthcoming Panchayat elections in the State. The timely intercept of the intrusion of the terrorists with the cache of arms, ammunition and other war like stores has thwarted any possible untoward incident, planned by the terrorists during the scheduled elections in the State,” PRO (Defence) Lt Col Devender Anand said.
He added that the Indian Army is carrying out relentless and robust anti-infiltration operations in the State to break the backbone of terrorism and nip the designs of anti national elements and the enemy to foment trouble in South of the Pir Panjal ranges in Jammu & Kashmir.
Sources said there had been desperate attempt by Pakistan and its backed militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir and cause terror attacks to disrupt Panchayat elections as restoration of democratic process at grass root level was not being digested by the militants and their mentors sitting across the border.
Troops all along the Line of Control and International Border have been put on very high alert to thwart the infiltration attempts in view of the reports that more than 160 terrorists have gathered at the launching pads across LoC and IB and were waiting for an opportunity to sneak into this side.
During past five days, three Army soldiers and a porter have been killed in ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the LoC in Pallanwalla, Sunderbani, Nowshera and Mankote sectors. In retaliation, Pakistan army has suffered heavy casualties and damages.
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