URI FANGS SURGICALLY REMOVED

URI FANGS SURGICALLY REMOVED

In a daring operation to avenge the killing of 18 jawans in the Uri terror attack, the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the wee hours of Thursday against terrorist launch pads and inflicted “significant casualties.” 

The Commandos of the Special Forces targeted at least seven terror launch pads in a nearly four-hour-long operation starting midnight. Unconfirmed reports said at least 35 to 50 terrorists were killed in the military action.  No Indian casualties were reported. This was the first-ever surgical strike carried out by the Indian Army across the LoC.

The operation began around 12.30 am when Special Forces Commandos crossed into PoK areas opposite Kupwara and Uri.  The artillery and infantry battalions manning the LoC gave covering fire to the teams involved in the cross-border action conducted in an area of one km to three km across the LoC. The strikes were over before sunrise, said sources. 

Stating that the element of surprise was complete, sources said here each launch pad had roughly 10 to 15 terrorists.  For the last one week, the Indian Army and Intelligence agencies were keeping tabs on these pads and decided to go in for the strike when a sizable number of terrorists were present at the camps, they said. 

Equipped with night vision devices and high masked lights for the raid, the Commandos used specialised ammunition to smash the terror launch pads.  Real-time Intelligence was relayed to the raiding teams through satellite imagery.  The four launch pads opposite to Kupwara were barely 300 metres from the LoC. The Commandos destroyed it with some help from artillery fire, sources said.

They also said the Army has photographic and video evidence of the strikes and denied reports that helicopters were used to drop the Commandos across the LoC.  The entire action was carried out on foot, they maintained.  This denial came amid reports that helicopters crossing the LoC amounted to an act of war. Sources also said helicopters would have alerted the terrorists and either they or the Pakistani Army could have shot down the slow the same. 

The Indian Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) called up his Pakistani counterpart on the hotline and informed him that the action was aimed against the terrorists and not against the Pakistan Army.

Refraining from giving details of the operation, DGMO Lt-General Ranbir Singh said based on specific and credible inputs that some teams of terrorists had positioned themselves at launch pads along the LoC to carry out infiltration and conduct terrorist strikes inside Jammu & Kashmir and in various metros in other States, the Army conducted “surgical strikes” to pre-empt infiltration.

During the counter-terrorist operation, “significant” casualties were caused to terrorists and those providing support to them, said the DGMO, adding operations aimed at neutralising terrorists have since ceased.

“We do not have any plans for continuation,” said Singh, adding, “But we cannot allow the terrorists to operate across the LoC with impunity and attack citizens of our country at will.  In line with Pakistan’s commitment in January 2004 not to allow the soil or territory under its control to be used for attacks against India, we expect Pakistani Army to co-operate with us to erase the menace of terrorism from the region.”

The announcement of the strikes by the Indian Army was made soon after Prime Minister Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).  Modi also informed President Pranab Mukherjee, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh among others, about the action.

After the Uri attack, Modi had said the perpetrators of the terrorist attack will not go unpunished.  The Government also said it reserves the right to respond to the attack at a time and place of its choosing.  The political establishment also said it was aware of the national mood after the attack and the Government honours these sentiments.

(the pioneer)