Sumir Kaul
Uri:The four terrorists who stormed an army base in Uri sector on Sunday killing 18 soldiers belonged to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and managed to sneak in by cutting the perimeter fencing of the highly-guarded army installation at two places, investigations have shown.

In an indication that the terrorists were well-versed of the layout of the army base close to the Line of Control(LoC), the assailants locked the cooking room and store from outside to prevent the soldiers from leaving before setting them afire, sources privy to the probe said today.

The investigators are not ruling out “insider help” to the terrorists in view of the precise nature of the actions undertaken by the intruders once inside the army base, the sources said, adding the attackers first cut the perimeter fencing at two places.

After locking the cooking room and store, two of the terrorists started moving towards the officers quarters within the base but they were gunned down before they could inflict any further damage, they said.

The two Global Positioning System (GPS) sets recovered from the slain militants were damaged during the attack and have been handed over to the NIA, which is probing the case.

The four intruders, who had crossed in from Pakistan- occupied Kashmir(Pok) a day earlier, were affiliated to LeT as the terrorist module bore striking resemblance to the group from the same Pakistan-based terror outfit eliminated in Poonch on September 11, the sources said.

Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh had told reporters hours after the attack that as per initial reports the slain terrorists belonged to Jaish-e- Mohammad(JeM), also a Pakistan-based terror outfit.

“All four killed were foreign terrorists and had carried with them items which had Pakistani markings. Initial reports indicate that the slain terrorists belong to Jaish-E-Mohammed tanzeem,” Lt Gen Singh had said.

The terrorists both at Uri and Poonch were carrying small plastic bottles containing a concoction of petroleum jelly and gelatin which was used to set the soldiers’ tents on fire, the sources said..

Various intelligence agencies probing the bloodiest attack on army in Kashmir in 27 years believe that the attack could be handiwork of LeT, which has been induging in shallow infiltration — a strategy to target the first available security installation by the infiltrators after crossing the LoC.

The NIA yesterday registered a case to probe the terror attack at the Army installation in Uri.

The NIA took over the investigation from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which had registered a case on Sunday, and began probe by collecting evidence available with the Army formation at Uri.

The NIA team led by Inspector General G P Singh has been camping in Uri since its arrival here yesterday. The team will collect the DNA samples of the four unidentified terrorists and their pictures would be shown to militants lodged in various jails of the state as well as other parts of the country.

The NIA team would prepare a dossier and may make a formal request to Pakistan once the identity of the four was ascertained.

Army has also instituted an inquiry into the attack with preliminary investigation suggesting the terrorists had entered the area at least a day before mounting the brazen assault.

The inquiry besides ascertaining lapses, if any, would also suggest measures to prevent such attacks in the future as Pakistani-based groups were indulging more in “shallow infiltration”, which means that terrorists strike the first available installation after crossing the Line of Control.

Militant hideout in Tral busted; arms, ammo seized

Srinagar:Security forces today busted a militant hideout in Tral area of Pulwama district in Kashmir, seizing a large cache of arms and ammunition.

“Army along with Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF have busted a terrorist hideout in Tral unearthing a large cache of warlike stores,” an army spokesman said.

Based on intelligence inputs, security forces launched a joint operation in the Kamla forest near Tral which led to the hideout.

The forces recovered one AK-56 rifle, a sniper rifle, a machine gun and an under-barrel grenade launcher (UBGL) besides a large quantity of ammunition, the spokesman said.

“The recovery of warlike stores and destruction of the hideout close to the sensitive area of Tral has delivered a blow to the nefarious designs of terrorists attempting to reorganise themselves after the elimination of key militants,” he added.

Army intensifies combing operations in Uri, Nowgam

Uri:Despite inclement weather, army was today carrying out intense combing-cum-search operations in Uri and Naugam sectors along the Line of Control in Kashmir where alert troops foiled two infiltration bids but have so far drawn a blank in retrieving bodies of the slain militants.

Army personnel continued their search operations in the higher reaches of Uri and Naugam sectors of Baramulla and Tangdhar districts respectively but have not managed to reach the spot where the bodies were supposed to be lying.

The bodies lay very close to the LoC and there was a possibility of the jawans coming under fire from across the border, official sources said.

The army personnel were maintaining a tight vigil to foil any fresh attempts by militants to sneak in through these sectors by breaking the security cordon or inflicting casualties on the troops.

Low clouds were also hampering the operation for retrieving the bodies of the militants which were lying close to the LoC, the sources said.

“The operations along the LoC in Uri and Naugam sectors continue,” an Army spokesman said.

One soldier was killed yesterday as Army foiled two infiltration bids in the two sectors of Kashmir.

While bodies of militants have been spotted nearly 300 metres short of the LoC, a search is on in neighbouring areas to find out if there are more casualties on ultras’ side, the sources said.

Army officials in New Delhi yesterday had claimed that 15 terrorists had attempted to cross the LoC.

However, the sources said army was treading cautiously in retrieving the bodies of the slain militants as there was a possibility of enemy troops opening fire.

“The bodies of the terrorists are so close to the LoC that army might not be able to recover them,” they said.

The combing-cum-search operations have been intensified to cover the densely forested areas adjacent to Uri and Naugam sectors to ensure that no remnants of the infiltrating terrorists are missed, they said.

The infiltration bid came just two days after the deadly attack by four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists on the Army base in Uri which claimed the lives of 18 soldiers and left several others injured.

As part of strengthening the counter-infiltration grid, army is firing illuminators intermittently at night to prevent more militants from sneaking in to this side of LoC, the sources said.

The failed infiltration bids yesterday were provided cover by the Pakistani troops, who resorted to ceasefire violation in Uri sector.

Army has refrained from making any comment on the number of terrorists killed during its operations to neutralise the infiltration attempts as the operations are still going on.

PTI