Highlight
- An official said terrorists are learned to use “tunnel and riverside” areas to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir
- There the terrorists are associated with Lashkar, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen.
- Another official said terrorists are now trying the Rajouri-Poonch routes
Jammu and Kashmir: The Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Poonch on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. Commenting on the operation, defense officials said, “There was an infiltration attempt along the LoC in Poonch sector during midnight (July 12/13), which was suitably thwarted by our alert troops.”
An official with knowledge of the matter said that keeping in view the threat assessment, patrolling by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Army has been carried out more frequently to thwart any infiltration attempt along the Line of Control.
The official said the terrorists are learned to use “tunnel and riverside” areas to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir and are linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul. Mujahideen (HM).
“Once most of the routes adopted by the terrorists are busted, they are planning to infiltrate through a tunnel and riverine areas,” the official said.
Another official said that the terrorists are now trying the Rajouri-Poonch routes south of Pir Panjal. “The focus of infiltration has now largely shifted to the south of Pir Panjal,” the official said.
“Infiltration into the Kashmir Valley has come down compared to other routes,” the official said. The inputs regarding these launch pads across the Line of Control are significant as the 43-day long Amarnath Yatra (annual pilgrimage of Hindus) began on June 30 after a gap of two years and lakhs of pilgrims are visiting the Union Territory .
The official said so far this year there have been very few incidents of successful infiltration along the Line of Control in the Valley as most of their attempts have been foiled and terrorists have been killed in several operations.
Pointing to the data, the official said that till June 28 this year, 121 terrorists were killed and the maximum number was of over ground workers belonging to Lashkar (68), JeM (29) and HM (16), while the number of foreign terrorists was was almost zero. ,
Citing figures, the official said that of the 121 terrorists, seven were unidentified and one was from Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK).
The overall situation along the LoC has been peaceful since the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan in 2021.
The official said there is a declining trend in infiltration along the LoC. From 130 infiltration bids in 2019, it came down to 36 bids in 2020 and 31 in 2021, the official said.
(with inputs from ANI)