Five militants killed as Army foils major infiltration bid

Pakistan increasing attempts to push in terrorists, says Govt. (AFP Photo)

NEW DELHI: The Army on Monday foiled a major infiltration attempt by militants to cross over from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) into the Machhil sector by killing five ultras. "A major infiltration bid was foiled today in the Machhil sector by alert troops," a defence spokesman said here. He said five militants were killed in the operation which was going on when reports last came in. During the search, five weapons have been recovered by the Army, the spokesman said. Recently, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley informed the Lok Sabha that Pakistan has increased attempts to push terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir through the border. There have been 285 incidents of ceasefire violation so far this year through the LoC compared to 228 such incidents in the entire 2016 along the LoC in which eight people had lost their lives, Jaitley said. He said there were 221 ceasefire violation along the International Border which is guarded by both the Border Security Force and the Army. Jaitely said due to the heightened vigil of the security forces, many infiltration attempts have been foiled and infiltration has been down. "There is record high in the casualties on the other side," he said. Jaitely said the government regularly reviews the threat perception to secure the borders and protect national interests. "Appropriate measures are taken from time-to-time to maintain and upgrade the country's defence preparedness along the border to safeguard the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India," the Minister said.