Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 7

Three unidentified militants were killed in a gunfight in the remote Machil sector, close to Line of Control in north Kashmir, on Wednesday as the Army foiled a major infiltration bid into the Kashmir valley.An Army official said three unidentified militants were killed after a fierce gun battle in the Sardari Nad forest area of the Machil sector in Kupwara district, nearly 140 km from here.“Three terrorists have been killed in Machil and three weapons have been recovered,” Defence spokesman Rajesh Kalia said, adding that the operation is still underway.The official said it was an infiltration bid and had been foiled.The firefight erupted when soldiers launched a cordon and search operation in the forest area and came under fire from the militants hiding in the area, police sources said. The militants are suspected to have infiltrated hours earlier before they were intercepted by soldiers, sources said.The Machil sector is a remote mountainous part of Kupwara district and a key infiltration route. Every year, the sector witnesses frequent and fierce firefights between infiltrating militants and soldiers, who defend the LoC in the region.The latest infiltration bid has been foiled at a time when there has been a sudden increase in the number of attempts by militants to cross over to the Kashmir valley.It is the third major infiltration attempt foiled by the Army in north Kashmir in the past fortnight.Eight infiltrating militants were killed in two separate gunfights on May 26 and 27 near the LoC in the Uri sector of north Kashmir. The security agencies estimate that 250 to 300 militants are operating in the Valley, a bulk of them in south Kashmir’s four districts where the local component of the militancy is dominant. In north Kashmir, where many of the infiltrating militants are frequently intercepted, foreign militants outnumber local militants.

Third intrusion attempt in 15 days

• It is the third major infiltration attempt foiled by the Army in north Kashmir in the past fortnight
• Eight infiltrating militants were killed in two separate gunfights on May 26 and 27 near the LoC in the Uri sector of north Kashmir
• The security agencies estimate that 250 to 300 militants are operating in the Valley