"There are some camps in the area (north Kashmir) which were mined during the days of Fidayeen (suicide squads of militants). Since situation is improving, we have decided to remove these mines," General Officer Commanding of Srinagar- based 15 Corps Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain told reporters here, 110 km from the capital.
The perimeters of eight camps, including Vilgam Rashtriya Rifles camp and Panjwa Camp, mostly located around north Kashmir were mined to prevent the Kamikaze militants from sneaking into these camps.
Most of these camps, circumvented with barbed wires, do not have boundary walls prompting army to plant mines around the camp.
"This is the first step towards making sure that these camps are safe for withdrawal, if tomorrow we get a chance to remove troops from these camps," Lt General Hasnain said.