The Indian Army on Friday countered an unprovoked ceasefire violation on the Line of Control by Pakistan's Army. India targeted a terror launch pad, an ammunition dump and artillery positions of Pakistan. Later, the Army released drone footage that shows precision targeting of a terror launch pad and an ammunition dump on Pakistan side of the LoC in Keran sector.
The Indian Army, according to defence sources, has used a battery of artillery guns to target an artillery formation across the LoC that was being used by Pakistan for indiscriminate targeting of defence and civilian facilities in Keran and Tangdhar sectors.
In the video several explosions can be seen and heard. However the black and white aerial footage does not quite convey how the situation may have looked from the ground.
According to an IANS report, heavy firing took place between the two sides for several hours. The report adds that fearing for their lives, residents of at least half-a-dozen villages close to the LoC abandoned their homes to run to safer places.
On Saturday news agency ANI posted footage that had been taken by someone in PoK. The coloured video shows a few individuals running to take shelter even as plumes of smoke and dust rises in the background. Two explosions can also be heard during the course of the short clip.
Army sources on Friday told ANI that the terror launchpad targeted by the troops on Line of Control are in the Dudhniyal area of Kel sector which was used by the Pakistan Army to launch five terrorists who had infiltrated in the Keran sector around April 1.
In a recent report, Hindustan Times quoted a counter-terror operative to add that India was forced to retaliate because the terrain was such that it would have been very difficult to neutralise the threat posed by terrorists if they had managed to cross over to India, without incurring casualties.
The incident comes in the wake of an unprovoked ceasefire violation by the neighbouring country. On the intervening night of April 3 and 4, an encounter with terrorists martyred five special force commandos in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara region. Five terrorists were also killed in the operation.
According to an ANI report that quoted sources, the Army also had inputs that a new batch of terrorists was getting ready to infiltrate from the Kel area. Hindustan Times also quoted an earlier report of its own to say that there are around 160 terrorists that are at present ready to infiltrave the Valley. They belong to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen organisations.
(With inputs from agencies)
