The Indian security forces have eliminated 18 terrorists since the Pulwama attack, 14 out of whom were from the JeM. Six out of those 14 were district commanders.
New Delhi: The Indian security forces have carried out a massive operation to flush out terrorists post the Pulwama terrorist attack that led to the death of over 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans last month.
Pakistan has been violating the ceasefire 10 times a day since the Pulwama attack, but India has replied strongly.
According to senior officers, a go-ahead has been given to eliminate all the top terror commanders and recruiters to stamp out terrorism in Kashmir.
India launched a massive air strike in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir's Balakot 12 days after the Pulwama attack. Indian Air Force's (IAF) Mirage-2000 jets reportedly inflicted heavy damage on Pakistan, demolishing the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camps and killing nearly 300 terrorists. It was the JeM, which was behind the Pulwama attack — the biggest on the Indian security forces in Kashmir.
Also read — Pakistan's Balakot lie exposed: Here's evidence IAF hit JeM hard
A Pakistani F-16 jet and three surveillance drones have also been shot down by India.
The Indian security forces have eliminated 18 terrorists since the Pulwama attack, 14 out of whom were from the JeM. Six out of those 14 were district commanders. Terrorists of other banned outfits like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen have also been gunned down. Of the militants killed, eight were from Pakistan and 10 were locals.
The security forces got major success this year, eliminating a total of 44 terrorists in the past two months, but have also sustained some causalities in recent encounters. The forces in the Valley have been carrying out join operations and have activated their informers and local assets to know the whereabouts of terror commanders.
Also read: 10 ceasefire violations every day by Pakistan after Pulwama attack
The Army claims that there has been a significant dip in fresh terror recruitment in the past two months and the number of locals participating in funeral processions of militants has reduced.
Pakistan has increased the ceasefire violations along the line of control (LoC) after the air strikes by the IAF on JeM’s training camps in Balakot.
In the past two months, Pakistan has violated the ceasefire on the LoC on more than 450 occasions. The Pakistani forces have continuously resorted to heavy shelling and firing mortars, mostly targeting civilian areas along the LoC. From February 15, the Pakistani army has violated the ceasefire 230 times, which comes to almost 10 ceasefire violations every day.
India has replied to the Pakistani firing, and six Pakistani soldiers have reportedly been killed so far. This has been confirmed after intercepting Pakistan Army communication in the Rajouri sector.
As a counter to Pakistan’s offensive, the Indian Army has started using Vijayant tank turrets and Bofors guns. This is something the Indian forces have not done in years.
The Pakistan Army has been firing with heavy calibre weapons, targeting Indian posts and civilian areas with mortar bombs and heavy artillery guns. The Pakistan Army initially used 81mm infantry mortar, but as the tension along the border increased, it started using 105mm artillery guns, followed by bigger artillery guns, which are likely to be of 130mm calibre, along with a mix of lower calibre guns.
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