Indian Army Foils LeT Infiltration Bid at LoC, Kills Two Terrorists
They said two terrorists fell down after being hit during the gunfight but it was not immediately clear whether they were dead or injured.
Jammu: The Indian Army said on Wednesday that two Islamic militants, believed to be the members of proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), were killed by its alert troops while their making a failed attempt to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan-occupied-Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) after breaching the Line of Control (LoC).
This LoC clash followed closely on the heels of ‘Operation Mahadev’, conducted on July 28 in the Harwan woods near Srinagar’s Dachigam National Park and in which the Indian Army para commandos, alongside the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jammu and Kashmir Police, eliminated three LeT terrorists believed to be linked to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 25 tourists and a local horse-handler in Baisaran valley.
The Army said, “The two heavily armed terrorists, believed to be affiliated with the Pakistan-based LeT, were killed in a fierce gunfight in the Poonch sector of J&K”. Elaborating, the officials said that the incident occurred in the Digwar area along the LoC during a joint operation -codenamed ‘Operation Shiv Shakti’- by the Indian Army and J&K Police. They said that after successfully foiling the infiltration attempt from PoJK, the troops recovered three weapons from the scene of the clash.
The Army’s Nagrota (Jammu)-based 16 Corps-also called White Knight Corps- said in a social media post, “In a successful anti-infiltration operation, alert troops of the Indian Army eliminated two terrorists attempting to infiltrate across the LoC Swift action and accurate firepower thwarted the nefarious designs”. It added, “Three weapons have been recovered. Synergistic and synchronised intelligence inputs from own intelligence units and J&K Police led to a successful operation. Operation in progress.”
In a post on ‘X’, the Army’s Northern Command said that its chief Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma has complimented the White Knight Corps “for their swift action and precise execution in neutralising two terrorists in the ongoing operation Shiv Shakti in the general area of Poonch.” It also said, “The Indian Army stands by its commitment to keep Jammu and Kashmir terror-free”.
Defence spokesman Lt. Colonel Suneel Bartwal said in Jammu that the Army troops, in a coordinated counter-terrorism operation, launched ‘Operation Shiv Shakti’ in the Poonch sector during early hours of July 30. “The operation was based on credible intelligence inputs acquired by synergistic and synchronised intelligence coordination by military and civil intelligence units in concert with J&K Police regarding the presence of terrorists in the area,” he said, adding, “Acting swiftly on the inputs, the security forces laid coordinated ambushes on the appreciated infiltration routes and a fierce gunfight ensued between the security forces and terrorists along the LoC ensued, leading to the neutralisation of two terrorists and recovery of large quantity of war like stores”.
The spokesman said, “The swift, coordinated and decisive action by security forces prevented any collateral damage and ensured the safety of the local population”.
He said the recovered “war like stores” include two assault rifles with ammunition, one pistol with ammunition, hand grenades, two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), medicines, communication device and other logistic stores”. He claimed, “The huge recovery of war-like and logistic stores indicate that the terrorists were well-prepared for prolonged engagement.”
Lt. Col. Bartwal further stated, “This operation highlights a high level of synergy, coordination and commitment on part of the Indian Army and other security agencies towards maintaining peace and security in the region. Operation Shiv Shakti is a major setback to nefarious designs of Pakistan sponsored terrorist organisations that are constantly abetting acts of terror in the J&K region.”