Srinagar, July 31: Troops foiled a major infiltration bid from other Kashmir in the wee hours on Friday and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir district of Kupwara.
Defence Ministry spokesperson said that troops guarding the LoC in Machil sector in Kupwara noticed suspicious move of unidentified persons about 600 meters on his side at around 0300 hrs on Friday.
“The group of militants, who were trying to sneak into this side of LoC under the cover of darkness, were asked to surrender,” he said, adding they opened indiscriminate firing with automatic weapons.
“Troops retaliated ensuing in a brief exchange of fire,” he said, adding with the first light a search operation was launched in the area. “Three AK rifles, a sniper rifle, eight grenades and other war like stores recovered from the encounter site,” he said, adding blood stains were also located.
Official sources said it was not immediately clear if the militants went back or are still hiding in the dense forest near the LoC. “A massive Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) was going on in the dense forest near LoC to sanitize the area,” they said.
