Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 16: After January 8 intrusions inside the Indian territory and brutal killing of two Army soldiers, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, backed by Pakistan Army, have also planted a number of mines along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district to cause casualties among the troops and abet infiltration of the militants.
The NDP-2 mines had been manufactured in Pakistan Ordnance Factory. They had the manufacturing tag of POF and Lot No. 87, official sources told the Excelsior.
“Pakistan mines had been planted in our area. A number of such mines have been detected along the LoC in Krishna Ghati sector and other areas of Poonch district. The fact the mines carried the mark of POF clearly indicated that they were Pakistani mines and had been planted by Pakistani militants, mostly from the LeT, on Indian side”, they said.
They added that the Indian Army detected the mines (pressure booby traps) during stepped-up patrolling and vigil on the LoC. The mines were concealed by the plastic cover, which is not detected by the metal detectors.
These mines get exploded with a weight of just 8 to 14 kgs, sources said, adding that the militants had planted them with a view to cause casualties among the patrolling parties of Army personnel in the forward areas. The mines had been planted either during darkness or under the covering fire of Pakistani troops.
“The mines could have also been used by the militants to damage fencing by exploding them close to the fence and force infiltration into this side’, sources said pointing out the intercepts which stated that Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen militants have also been provided with a number of these mines by the Pakistan Army.
The mines also get exploded with remote as they had been fitted with fuse and wire.
Some of the mines had been planted along walking track between the Army posts with a view to cause casualties among the Army soldiers.
Sources said during the recent Brigade Commander level flag meeting at Chakan-Da-Bagh, the Indian side had shown the photographs of Pakistani mines planted on Indian side of the LoC. The Pakistani side saw the photographs but disowned them notwithstanding the fact that the mines carried manufacturing stamp of POF.
The mines appeared to have been planted by the militants on Indian side of the LoC during adverse weather conditions. They could have also got the task executed through militant couriers of the LeT and HM, who have been camping at launching pads close to Pakistan Army posts on other side of the LoC.
Describing the planting of mines on Indian side of the LoC as a “very serious matter”, sources said this could have caused more casualties among the Army jawans had they stepped over them during patrolling. Sources said the mines had been planted at a time when the Army jawans had stepped-up patrolling along the LoC after January 8 intrusions by Pakistan Army commandos inside the Indian territory during which they had brutally killed two soldiers and took away head of one of them besides their service weapons and ammunition.
Army had already sought return of the head of Lance Naik Hem Raj and service weapons of the jawans during the flag meeting at Chakan-Da-Bagh Zero Line in Poonch district on January 14.
Sources said the troops along the LoC have been asked to maintain high alert while conducting patrolling as the militants could have plated the mines in some of the areas.
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