Early Times Report
POONCH, July 26: A major attempt by Pak troops to push militants into Mendhar territory of Poonch was foiled by the alert army troops Friday night.
As it rained heavily in Poonch areas last night and thick fog covered the border belt, Pak troops of 650 Mujahid Regiment opened heavy volume of fire from their Lanjiot and Dabsi forward posts at about 9 pm, targeting forward Indian posts of Peeli Poona, Raja Tekri and 485, official sources said.
Taking cover of the fire and fog, a group of 10-12 militants came closer to the LoC and made an attempt to infiltrate into the Indian territory. The intrusion bid was, however, detected by the alert border troops of army, the sources added.
The troops returned the fire, forcing the infiltrating militants to retreat. It was, however, yet to be ascertained if the sleeing militants suffered any casualty, sources said.
After the militants fled, the intermittent exchange of fire between the two sides continued for over three hours.
A tight vigil was being maintained all along the LoC to foil any intrusion bid by the Pak-based militants, the sources added.
Quoting intelligence inputs, sources said 200 odd militants were waiting at the launching pads to sneak into the Indian territory. "These launching pads are close to the LoC on the Pak side," the sources added.
Sources also did not rule out surprise raids by the Pak Border Action Team (BAT) in the border areas of Poonch. A BAT team had earlier beheaded two army jawans in the area. |
