Huge quantity of arms & ammunition recovered in J&K’s Kupwara

Srinagar, Sep 12 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Security forces have recovered a huge quantity of ammunition and explosives in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, the Army said in a statement on Thursday. “Based on specific intelligence inputs, a joint operation by Army and Jammu & Kashmir Police was launched in Keran Sector, Kupwara… Searches in the indicated area have led to the recovery of a very large cache of arms, ammunition and explosives, including AK 47 rounds, hand grenades, RPG rounds, material for Improvised Explosive Devices and other war-like stores,” said the Army, adding that the seizures were made on Wednesday. The statement further added that the recovery was significant considering the current security situation and upcoming important events in the union territory. “The intelligence tip-off was from a special election observer deployed in J&K and has possibly helped avert a major incident in North Kashmir…The security forces are ever committed to keeping the environment stable and peaceful, in the region,” the statement further mentioned. This comes just a day after two terrorists were killed in an encounter between security forces and terrorists in the Basantgarh area in Jammu & Kashmir. There have been a series of encounters between terrorists and security forces across Jammu and Kashmir in the recent past in which many terrorists and their commanders have been eliminated even as Pakistan is trying to step up infiltration at the LoC and send a consignment of weapons before the winter sets in and snow closes the passes. There have been several instances of weapon dropping by drones from Pakistan near the International Border in Jammu for terrorists operating in the UT. The BSF has recovered several weapon caches in the recent past and foiled the designs of terrorists and their handlers across the border. While the Army is alert to foiling infiltration bids at the LoC, terrorist activities are now spreading across other areas of Jammu and Kashmir, areas that were relatively free from such incidents until a few years ago like the Chenab valley that was declared militancy-free, Udhampur and Kathua. The highly trained terrorists have been ambushing vehicles and using grenades and armour-piercing bullets, as well as M4 assault rifles. Sources have said that the rising militancy and the use of sophisticated weapons by terrorists indicate a significant escalation in the threat level. The frequent attacks have sparked political criticism and calls for stronger security measures and heightened public concern. The relentless anti-terror operations in Kashmir have pushed terrorists to the mountains where they hide and wait for the right moment to carry out attacks on security forces. Analysts add that a comprehensive strategy is needed to address the increasing militancy in Jammu involving enhanced intelligence gathering and better coordination among security forces. —