Recently, an Indian army brigade headquarters was attacked by militants near the Indo-Pak border in Uri. This led to the martyrdom of 17 soldiers in what is being termed as the “most deadly such attack in the northern region of Kashmir in recent years”. As a result of retaliation, 4 fidayeen terrorists were neutralised by the Indian Army.
But, the question rises how the terrorists actually managed to carry out the attack and that too at the HQs. Here is how the story unfolded:
The four terrorists had possibly infiltrated through two locations at the Line of Control (LoC) which are only 6 to 7 kms away from the base. They had possibly infiltrated through either Churunda, located at a height, or Islamabad Nalla, which flows in and out of India.
The probe of the probable two-point breach is being investigated, 1st one at the Line of Control (LoC) at Uri and the 2nd at the perimeter of the Army base that saw the fencing wire being cut.
These two lapses helped suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) fidayeen access the heavily-guarded camp and execute the suicide attacks.
As per preliminary inputs, the suspected Jaish terrorists seem to have followed their usual modus operandi of infiltrating from across Pakistan the night before the attack and heading straight for the target. It was not like the Pathankot attack, wherein the terrorists had spent the night in the base.
Hand of a ‘mole’ or overground worker in alerting the Jaish masterminds to troop positions within the camp is also being taken seriously which helped the fidayeen maximise casualties.
This fact that the terrorists were aware of the layout of the camp and knew their way around is enough to point out at a reconnaissance from within inside. They had possibly identified the stretches where the fence was not properly manned and accordingly found a safe spot to cut the perimeter wire.
Also a changeover of troops was in progress in Uri, of which the attackers had possibly got advance information of, may have provided the perfect target as the forces were concentrated in south Kashmir, dealing with protests there, making Jaish strike in north Kashmir.
The terrorists opened fire at the toilet area at about 5.15 am after entering the base. They then opened fire at the tents, located about 150 metres away from the toilets. The soldiers were sleeping in the tents.
The kote (the storage facility for the arms) also caught fire. An assessment of the losses is being made. Barrels of diesel and kerosene located near the MT (Mechanical Transport area, where vehicles are parked) and the cook house also caught fire.
The terrorists lobbed 17 grenades in three minutes, igniting the diesel dump and creating a massive fire, which burnt the barracks and tents in an area of 150 metres. Thirteen soldiers were burnt alive and 32 others were injured with severe burns.
When the diesel dump exploded, the smog and the subsequent explosion disoriented the terrorists and they headed towards the soldier’s barracks. A terrorist was gunned down by a 19-year-old soldier.
He challenged the remaining three terrorists and sustained a severe head injury when a bullet hit his helmet. He was evacuated by his colleagues. (A 19 YEAR OLD SOLDIER DIED! OH MY GOD!)
Since the barracks was empty the terrorists took defensive position inside the barracks at the second floor. The Army’s Para Commandos stormed the building and eliminated those sons of bitches.
The army recovered a map from the slain terrorists revealing their detailed plan of action. The map was elaborately marked and locations were indicated in Pashtun which is one the tribal languages spoken in Pakistan.
According to official figures as on July 31, there were 72 successful infiltrations across the Line of Control compared to 30’s for the whole of last year. And even all this after our beloved PM visited Pakistan to have “talks over chai” with Nawaz Sharif.
Sir, we would just like to tell you one thing, it’s better to end it once and for good. Everyone knows that Pakistan was behind it as evident from the manufacturers stamp on the terrorists’ weapons. Erase Pakistan from the map before they erase more of our brother-in-arms.
