Two days after Uri terror attack, Army foils two major infiltration bids; at least 10 terrorists killed, 1 jawan martyred

Srinagar: Two days after the deadly terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri Sector, Army on Tuesday foiled two major infiltration bids from Pakistan near the Line of Control (LoC).

Though reports claimed that 10 terrorists were neutralised, Army sources in the national capital clarified that the extent of casualties can be ascertained only after the retrieval of the bodies from the dense jungles and that the operations were still underway.

The sources said a group of 15 terrorists had attempted to infiltrate into Indian territory through the LoC.

The attempts to cross the LoC in Uri and Nowgam sectors came even as Pakistani troops violated ceasefire and fired at Indian positions in Uri sector.

Unfortunately one jawan was martyred in the Nowgam sector near the LoC in Kupwara.

The infiltration attempts came as India and Pakistan are locked in a diplomatic war of words over a deadly unrest in the Kashmir Valley and soon after the Sunday attack on military base close to the de facto border that divides the state between the two neighbours.

Defence sources said the infiltration attempt was made under the cover of Pakistani firing as a group of 15 heavily armed militants attempted to cross over to this side of the LoC near Uri, 100 km north of Srinagar.

India has blamed Pakistan for Sunday`s assault on Army brigade headquarters in Uri in which four commando-style gunmen killed 18 Indian soldiers, sharply raising tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Pakistan denies any role in the raid, one of the deadliest in the divided Himalayan region over which India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars.

The latest infiltration bids come as India blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed militants for the Uri terror attack. Pakistan has denied the allegations even as India claimed to have clinching evidence to support its claim.

The Indian Army has said it has recovered arms, ammunition and food and medicine packets with Pakistani markings during the combing operations at the military base in Uri.

According to the Indian Army, infiltration attempts from across the border with Pakistan have increased this year in comparison with the past three to four years.

In 2016 so far, the Indian Army has foiled 19 infiltration bids from across the border. The army said it was a "desperate attempt" by Pakistan to create "disturbance and foment unrest" in India.

International condemnation of Uri attack continues

The world community continued with its condemnation the dastardly Uri attack with Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and many other countries today conveying strong support to India in its fight against terror.

Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Mauritius, Bahrain, Qatar, Nepal Mongolia and South Korea also strongly condemned the terror attack in Uri that left 18 soldiers dead and called for sustained regional and global cooperation to eliminate the menace of terrorism.

Rajnath reviews Kashmir situation

Home Minister Rajnath Singh today again reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir with top officials, including NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, in the wake of the terror attack in Uri.

Doval and top officials of the ministries of Home and Defence, paramilitary forces and chiefs of intelligence agencies briefed?Singh on the prevailing situation in the Kashmir Valley as well as along the Line of Control, official sources said.

The presence of the Foreign Secretary in the meeting is significant as government plans to launch a diplomatic offensive against Pakistan.

Pak must stop giving safe haven to terrorists, Kerry tells Sharif

Pakistan must stop giving a safe haven to terorrists, US Secretary of State John Kerry has told Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while expressing "strong concern" over the attack on the Indian Army base in Uri.

When they met here on Monday, Kerry "reiterated the need for Pakistan to prevent all terrorists from using Pakistani territory as safe havens", State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement on Tuesday.