‘Pak Army involved in Kupwara encounter’: Army Chief

Srinagar: Warning about an impending increase in terror related activities in Kashmir, Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor on Wednesday said equipment and material seized from Lashkar-e-Toiba militants killed in Kupwara indicated that Pakistani security forces provided assistance to terrorists.

“The fact that there are camps on the other side obviously indicate that the possibility of involvement (of Pakistan Army) cannot be ruled out,” Kapoor told reporters here on the sidelines of a reception to gallantry and service medal winners here.

The Army chief was responding when asked if the terrorists, who were engaged in a five-day battle with the Army troops in the forests of Kupwara and Handwara had Pakistan Army’s assistance.

“The map, guidance systems and equipment (with terrorists) is indicative that the state and security forces assistance from across the border was there as such material is not usually there in the civil domain,” Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps Brigadier General Staff Brig Gurmit Singh told reporters here.

Asked if the arrest of senior LeT operatives by Pakistan had any impact on its activities, Kapoor said the terrorist outfit was still “very much active”.

“I can definitely say that Lashkar is very much still active and as to the amount of difference those arrests have made, its for you all to judge and see for yourselves,” he said.

He added that there was still a very large component of foreign militants operating in the border state.

No fresh exchange of fire has occurred since last evening and the Army was carrying out combing operations in Drangyari and Hafroda forest area after the five-day encounter which left eight Army personnel, including Major Mohit Sharma, and 17 terrorists dead.

Singh strongly refuted Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba’s (LeT) claim that they killed 25 soldiers during the encounter saying “only eight soldiers including Major Mohit Sharma made the supreme sacrifice.”

Claiming responsibility for Kupwara encounter, a spokesman of the LET claimed that 25 Army personnel were killed and 50 others injured in gun battles.

Singh said 23 AK assault rifles, one pistol, four Under Barrel Grenade Launchers (UBGLs), 19 UBGL grenades, two hand grenades, two global positioning systems and 10 radio sets were recovered from the slain militants.

Addressing the press, Brigadier General Gurmeet Singh said that eight Army personnel, including a Major, were killed in the gunfight along with 17 terrorists. He added that the combing operations were still on.

He further stated that a majority of the terrorists trying to infiltrate the region had been killed, adding that the remaining ones, if any, would be neutralised. According to him, the dense forests in the area impeded the combat operations as a result of which the encounter, which began on March 20, went on for six days.

Cautioning that more militants were waiting to infiltrate, the Army spokesman added that they were ready to tackle all the challenges.

He further stated that the Army had accurate information, backed by human intelligence from both the sides, regarding the movement of the terrorists.

The gunfights were first reported on Saturday and followed a cross-border exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops that left one Indian soldier wounded.

The latest death toll was the highest in months in the troubled region and came at a time of heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours following last November’s deadly Islamist militant attacks on Mumbai.