Army foils Pakistani BAT attack along LoC in Tanghdar sector

Army's 28 Division in a statement said that the alert soldiers manning the fence in Tangdhar sector foiled the BAT action by engaging the intruders in a gunfight that lasted for an hour.

 

"In its continued efforts to destabilize the situation along the LoC and target Indian Army Posts, a BAT comprising of militants and actively supported by heavy shelling by Pakistan army from multiple posts tried to raid a forward post of Tangdhar sector," the statement said.

 

Alert troops detected the movement of the BAT team which was trying to move towards  army post under cover of heavy fire by enemy posts and effectively repulsed it causing causalities, it said and added, the exchange of fire continued for an hour.

 

Sources said the Army had specific inputs suggesting that the Pakistan Army, along with terrorists, had concentrated in Tanghdar sector on its side to target Indian posts along the LoC.

 

"The BAT attack could have inflicted damages if Indian troops weren't alert. After few BAT attacks last year, the army is on high alert. However, as Pakistani Army gives covering fire, the BAT sometimes crosses over the LoC," they said.

 

This was the second such attack in last four days along the LoC in J&K. On February 19, two Indian soldiers were injured in a similar attack along the LoC in Khari Karmara sector of Poonch district. One intruder was also killed in the retaliatory action by the Indian army.

 

Defence experts say that Pakistan's Special Services Group (SSG) forms the core of the BAT, besides, dreaded terrorists from Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad outfits, for trans-LoC action up to a depth of one to three kilometres. "As Indian posts are closer to Pakistan in Poonch sector, the rugged terrain and thicker forests give BATs an advantage to escape. The BAT usually mutilates the bodies of Indian soldiers to wage psychological warfare," they said.

 

The BAT camps, unlike the largely make-shift terror-training camps and launch pads across the LoC, consist of around 40-50 Pakistan Army regulars and commandos being specially trained for cross-border raids and ambushes, experts said.