Uri terror attack: As India Mourns 17 Soldiers, PM, Ministers discuss response

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Sep 19, 2016:  The bodies of the 17 soldiers killed in the terror attack at an army base in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri on Sunday are being flown back to their homes today. In Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting with top ministers to shape the government’s response.

 

   
Top sources said the government is clear there must be a calibrated response from India to the attack. India, the sources said, could raise the Uri attack at the United Nations General Assembly, which is in session in New York.
   
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar this morning briefed the Prime Minister, who is holding a review meeting with Mr Parrikar, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
   
Rajnath Singh held a separate meeting with Mr Parrikar and Army Chief Dalbir Singh, both of who visited Jammu and Kashmir yesterday after the attack, and other top officials.
   
Early on Sunday morning, four terrorists sneaked into the base firing AK-47s and throwing grenades, killing soldiers sleeping in tents that caught fire. Twenty soldiers were injured, seven of them critically.
   
India has directly blamed Pakistan for the attack. "Pakistan is a terrorist state and it should be identified and isolated as such," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, adding that the attackers were "highly trained, heavily armed and specially equipped".
   
Pakistan has rejected what it called "baseless and irresponsible accusations" and said it was, "deplorable that the Indian Minister chose to blame Pakistan for the incident even prior to conducting proper investigation."
   
The Army said there are clear signs that the terrorists belong to the Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammed. Four AK-47 rifles, grenade launchers, a large number of grenades and food with Pakistani markings were found in search ops.
    The attack happened during a change of command at the base and soldiers from two regiments - 6 Bihar and 10 Dogra - were present. 15 of the soldiers killed were from the Bihar regiment.
   
Two of the soldiers who died are from Jammu, two from Jharkhand, three from Bihar, four from Uttar Pradesh, two from Bengal, three from Maharashtra and one from Rajasthan.
   
The terrorists are believed to have crossed a canal along the Line of Control, cut through the fencing and infiltrated into Kashmir. The Uri camp could be observed from the hill tops across the border and it is likely that the terrorists were aware that the regiments were turning over, sources said.