The General Officer Commanding, 15 (Chinar) Corps, Srinagar, Lt. Gen. Gurmeet Singh, said that with the help of the “intelligence network” in the area, the Army already had a whiff of militant movement in the area. “Almost 10 to 12 militants have been killed... Our intelligence network helped us in foiling the infiltration bid,” he claimed. He said that the area chosen by the militants for infiltrating into J&K from PoK has rough and rugged hilly terrain amid forests where vegetation is being grown by the locals. He also said that with the help of UAVs, the troops took pictures of the dead bodies and assured that the as of now, the situation “is under control”. Intelligence reports available have also confirmed that top militant leaders had been frequently visiting terror camps in PoK, close to the Keeran sector, over the last few days. “The frequent movement of these top terrorists at launch pads close to the border had made us suspicious and we were expecting a major infiltration bid. But it seems the twin terror attack on security forces was a diversionary tactic,” a senior security official remarked. Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Army said that a “massive and desperate” infiltration attempt by militants belonging to JeM, LeT, Al-Badr and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen was made but is being neutralised by the troops deployed in the Keran sector of Kupwara through “intense operations” launched on the night of September 24. It added, “The terrorists attempted infiltration over wide frontage with multiple contacts but were detected by the alert troops, effectively engaged and stalled near the areas close to the LoC fencing. Intense fire-fight ensued resulting into possible elimination of a number of terrorists.” The Army said that in order to ensure that the militants are not able to infiltrate into the hinterland, additional reinforcements were rushed to the area of operations and an effective cordon was established. The terrain being high-altitude, rugged and difficult, the operations are being undertaken “deliberately”.
