Srinagar, Oct 14 (IANS) Two terrorists were killed when the Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, officials said on Tuesday.

The officials said that alert troops of the Army noticed suspicious movement on the LoC.

“An infiltrating group of terrorists was challenged and engaged in a sustained exchange of fire. Two terrorists have been killed in this ongoing operation so far,” the officials said.

Further details are awaited, the officials added.

The Army, along with the security forces, are on 24/7 vigil on the LOC and the hinterland to foil any infiltration bid along the Line of Control in J&K before the mountain passes are closed by the heavy snowfall this winter.

There are reports that terrorists are waiting at launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to infiltrate into the Indian side before the mountain passes get closed.

Officials said the exact number of terrorists waiting to infiltrate is always changing, but the number could be anything around 100.

Army, security forces and J&K Police have been carrying out aggressive anti-terrorist operations in the union territory to dismantle the terror ecosystem by targeting terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers.

The Army guards the LoC while the Border Security Force (BSF) guards the International Border (IB).

Jammu and Kashmir has a 740 km long LoC, while the International Border is 240 km long. The LoC is situated in Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora in the Valley and parts of Jammu district, while the International Border is in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts of Jammu division.

Terror operators and handlers across the LoC and the International Border in Pakistan are using drones with payloads of arms/ammunition, drugs and cash to sustain terrorism in J&K. These payloads are picked up by terrorist OGWs, associates or sympathisers and passed on to the terrorists.

The BSF and the Army have deployed special anti-drone equipment along the IB and the LoC to tackle the menace of drones.

–IANS

sq/dpb