Army claims to have killed 2 ‘BAT militants’
The Army on Friday gunned down two militants of the Pakistan’s Border Action Team (BAT). The action came 25 days after its two men were beheaded allegedly by Pakistani army, further escalating the tensions along the border.
Army claimed that it foiled an attack in Uri by the BAT, which is a special force used for cross-LoC raids and assaults along the LoC. “BAT action against Indian Army patrol along LC in Uri Sector foiled. Two BAT terrorists killed,” Army tweeted. “Alert troops foiled a BAT attack on our patrol party in Uri sector today. Two BAT terrorists were killed in the operation,” said Colonel Rajesh Kalia, a defence spokesman, based in Srinagar. “The BAT attack was effectively repulsed”, he said.
According to police officials the bodies of the two slain BAT terrorists were lying in “no man’s” land along the LoC. BAT has attacked Indian personnel and posts several times and even beheaded and mutilated Indian soldiers’ bodies, a senior army official said, adding that the Pakistan’s Special Services Group forms the core of BAT.
On May 1, while Pakistani troops were targeting two forward posts of the Army, BAT moved in and beheaded two security personnel –BSF head Constable Prem Sagar and Army Subedar Paramjeet Singh. On October 28 last year, an Indian army soldier was killed and his body mutilated close to the LoC in the Machil sector.
In January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj was killed and his body mutilated allegedly by the BAT. In the mounting tensions along the border, the authorities in the Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PAK) claimed that a woman was killed during the early hours of Friday, in what officials said is the latest ceasefire violation by Indian troops. Farzand Begum, 60, wife of Noor Hussain, died when a shell landed on her house and exploded. The woman was a resident of Naali village in Bhimber district, Deputy Commissioner Chaudhry Guftaar said.
Naali village, which falls in tehsil Barnala, is adjacent to the Samahni sector, which has been hit frequently by Indian troops in the recent past, officials said. Shelling began in the area at around 3am, and the casualty occurred between 4 and 5am, Additional Station House Officer Hanif Ali said. He added that since mobile phones do not work in the hilly area, they had sent a constable to ascertain details.
With the latest fatality, the number of killings in cross-border firing incidents in the ongoing month has risen to three on the Pakistani side, while at least 30 others have been injured.
KV Correspondent
