JAMMU: Army has foiled a cross-border plan to plant IEDs and target patrolling troops as they recovered one such Pakistan-made mine along Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch District.
“Pakistan origin claymore mine along with a knife, shawl, tracksuit and caps was recovered on LoC in Saujiyan Sector in Poonch on 14th October 2014 by an alert LoC domination patrol”, Public Relation Officer (PRO), Ministry of Defence (MoD), Jammu, Lt Col Manish Mehta said here on Wednesday.
The mine recovery reaffirms the handiwork of inimical terrorists and subversive elements in spreading acrimonious activities on LoC and hinterland, he said.
“The Indian Army continues to enhance and upgrade its vigil on a daily basis resulting in such recovery of lethal mine which has 800 pellets and has a killing area of 50mtrs and danger area of around 200 meters”, Lt Col Mehta said.
Indian Army is fully prepared and geared up to handle any such misadventure or nefarious design of terrorists and inimical elements, he said.
“With no head way being made on any ground whether the IB or LoC. Inimical elements have now started taking assistance from the terrorists in planting IED and mines on the LoC”, Lt Col Mehta said.
Pointing towards the incidents of IED blast in Balnoi Sector on 10 October 2014, he said “it was one such incident”.
Yesterday, some suspected persons were challenged by the troops along LoC, Col Harpreet Singh said adding they escaped leaving behind a bag, containing the mine weighing 7.2 kgs.
The LoC has always been facing acts of uncalled for aggression from across the border in various forms but the vigilant and alert troops of Indian Army deployed in the challenging terrain of Pir Panjal mountains have always been answering these provocative acts with resolute, firm and appropriate response, Lt Col Mehta said.
“It (Pak) has always flouted the rights and dignity of civilian population by targeting them both during Ceasefire Violation and by planting IED on roads being used by them also”, he added.
On October 4, an army jawan was killed and another injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast triggered by the militants in Balnoi belt along the LoC in Poonch district.
On May 19, a jawan was killed and two of his colleagues were injured in an attack by suspected Pakistan’s Border Action Team (BAT), which set off a mine blast and open fired on a patrol party along LoC in Chakla belt in Pallanwala sector of the Jammu district.