A "likely treacherous" New Year eve attack by a Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir was foiled by the Indian Army, which killed two intruders and forced others to retreat.
The Pakistani Army provided heavy cover fire, using mortars and rockets, to the intruders who were wearing combat dress like that of Pakistani regulars and tried to sneak into Naugam sector, the Army said.
Some intruders were seen in BSF and old pattern of Indian Army dress for deception, the Army said in a statement.
"Army foiled a major BAT attempt to strike a forward post along the Line of Control (LoC) in Naugam sector in the early hours of 30 December 2018," the statement said.
The operation to foil the BAT action was started after the Indian troops sensed suspicious movement near an Indian post of Karal Kot along the Line of Control.
BAT is a small unit generally comprising Pakistani Army personnel and terrorists who sneak across the LoC or International Border to carry out an attack.
"The movement was detected simultaneously with ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops from 6 PM on Saturday," an Army official said.
"The intruders attempted to move by exploiting the thick jungles close to LoC and were assisted by a heavy cover fire of high calibre weapons such as mortars and rocket launchers from the Pakistani posts," said the Army statement.
The movement was nonetheless detected by the vigilant Indian Army troops and the intruders were challenged, the Army said.
In the gunfight, which continued the whole night, two "likely Pakistani soldiers" were eliminated and a few other intruders reportedly managed to escape across the LoC, taking advantage of the Pakistani firing and adverse weather and visibility conditions, the Army said.
"After the firing subsided, the forces in the Kissan battalion area flew a Quadcopter to assess the damage done to enemy troops and spotted the bodies of two intruders near the post," the official added.
"The alertness and resilience of the own troops, who engaged and neutralised the intruders, thus eliminated a likely treacherous attack on the Army forward posts along the Line of Control (LoC) on the eve of New Year," it said.
The Indian Army troops conducted prolonged search operations in thick jungles, including deploying drones, to ascertain the situation.
The Army said Pakistan will be asked to take back the mortal remains of the deceased "likely Pakistani soldiers since Pakistan did provide full covering fire support to these intruders."
"The Indian Army's resolve to keep a strict vigil along the LoC and defeat all such nefarious designs of Pakistan will continue to remain firm and consistent," the statement read.
Army sources said Quadcopters were used to locate dead bodies of suspected Pakistani soldiers
Quadcopters are small drones which are used by the Army to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance in operational areas.
These small drones are very useful for the forces as they can locate movement of terrorists and Pakistan Army regulars in a stealthy manner and also avoid the risk of exposing men to terrorists who may be hiding to ambush them.
According to the statement issued by the Indian Army, a large cache of warlike stores, i.e., two AK-47 rifles, 480 rounds of ammunition, three communication sets, two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), cameras and petrol bottles.
From the recovery, it was estimated that they (BAT) intended to carry out a gruesome attack on the Indian Army forward post in Naugam sector.
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