2 days after Uri attack, 2 infiltration bids foiled; 10 militants, 1 jawan killed

Uri/New Delhi: Barely two days after the terror attack in Uri, two infiltration bids were made from across the border in Kashmir today but they were foiled by the Army in an encounter in which 10 terrorists and a jawan were killed even as Pakistani troops violated ceasefire and fired at Indian positions.

As the Government mulled various options on India's response to the cross-border terror attack on Sunday in which 18 jawans were killed, a crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has been convened tomorrow.

"Two infiltration bids by militants from across the Line of Control (LoC) have been foiled in Uri and Nowgam sectors today. At both places the operations are in progress," an army spokesman said in Srinagar.

The spokesman refused to comment on the number of militants killed in the ongoing operations so far, saying details will be made public in due course.

He, however, said one soldier was killed in the operation in Nowgam sector.

Army sources in Delhi, however, said that 10 terrorists were killed in the encounter with the army in the Uri sector. The bodies have not yet been recovered, they added.

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

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh again reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir at a meeting in Delhi with top officials, including NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.

Separately, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said that any action against terrorists based in Pakistan will be taken only after examining all relevant issues.

On the ceasefire violation incident, an army official in Srinagar said the firing from across the LoC took place between 1.10 pm and 1.30 pm. However, there was no damage in the incident, he said.

"Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing by small arms towards Indian positions in Uri sector this afternoon," the official said in Srinagar.

The official said while there were no reports of any casualty in the firing, further details of the incident were awaited.

The infiltration bids and the ceasefire violation came two days after four militants of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad stormed an army base in Uri Sector, killing 18 soldiers and injuring several others. All the four militants were also killed.

The terror attack has heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. At the meeting convened by Rajnath Singh, Doval and top officials of the ministries of Home and Defence, paramilitary forces and chiefs of intelligence agencies briefed him on the prevailing situation in the Kashmir Valley as well as along the LoC, official sources said.

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