Soldier injured in sniper attack along LoC

A soldier was injured in a sniper fire from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Tanghdar area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Tuesday.

A police official said that Pakistani Rangers fired several shots at an army post in Tangdhar on Tuesday morning, leaving a soldier injured. The injured soldier identified as Kaushal Singh of 20-Jat was immediately shifted to a hospital in critical condition, he said.

The official said that the soldiers manning the fence retaliated Pakistani fire and when reports last came in, the intermittent exchange of fire was going on.

The ceasefire violations, sniper attacks and infiltration attempts from Pakistani side is on rise since last two years. Last week Director General Military Operations (DGMOs) of the India and Pakistan spoke over the ceasefire issue after the two countries celebrated their independence days.

On August 16, Indian Army statement said the Pakistani commander promised that his army “would take prompt action against (any) move of inimical elements in proximity to the LoC and respond to information shared by the Indian side, thereby facilitating the conduct of anti-terrorist operations.”

A senior army officer said that despite assurances from the Pakistan side, the infiltration attempts and ceasefire violations continue along the LoC. “There is pressure on militants waiting on launching pads across the LoC to infiltrate due to depleting number of ultras in the state in view of successes achieved by security forces,” he said.

Sources said Pakistani troops have positioned snipers at odd locations close to the forward posts to target Indian troopers proceeding on long patrols and forward locations. "Pak Army relies on their team of snipers to target Indian positions and in the last two years, several Indian troopers have lost their lives in sniper attacks," they revealed.