Seven soldiers killed in attack on Indian Army base in IHK

Ex-home secretary points finger at Pakistan;
Indian aggression on LoC continues

NAGROTA: Seven Indian Army personnel, including two officers, died in an attack on a military base in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) early Tuesday, military officials said.

The attack occurred near Jammu in the town of Nagrota, 12.4 miles from the border with Pakistan, the Indian media reported.Army personnel killed three militants and rescued 16 people — two women, two children and 12 soldiers — who were held hostage.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.The attackers were dressed as police officers when they entered the base around 5:30am.They reportedly threw grenades as they entered the officers’ mess hall. Then, they entered residential buildings, which includes housing for families.

In the initial counteraction, one officer and three soldiers were killed, the Army’s Northern Command said in a statement.The terrorists then entered residential buildings, where the families of some personnel were lodged. This led to a hostage-like situation.

Army personnel contained the situation and launched a deliberate operation to rescue the soldiers and their family members caught in the buildings and also to neutralise the terrorists.One more officer and twomore soldiers were killed in the operation that saw the rescue of 16 people, including two children and two women.

The Northern Command said it had recovered the bodies of three terrorists. Defense Ministry spokesman Manish Mehta said: "The situation is under control." The Nagrota base, which is home to 1,000 officers and their families, is one of four command centers in Jammu and Kashmir.

On Sept. 18, militants attacked an army base in Uri, initially killing 17. Then, two others died from their injuries.  "India is not a weak country," Nirmal Singh, Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said after the latest attack.  "It will not be weakened and we will answer them in whatever language they understand," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on the deadly attack. Earlier, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag briefed Parrikar about the attack.

The Ministry is also likely to seek a formal report from the army about the assault which came just two months after the deadly Uri terror strike.

Sources said the prime minister was briefed in the morning and again after the operation was over.  Former Home Secretary R K Singh said the terror attack was a "message" sent by Pakistan's newly appointed Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to India.

"We need to take note of the fact that this is the Pakistan's new Army chief sending a message. His policy will be same as followed by the predecessor. We also need to send across a message to him," he said.

"India will hit back harder every time it is targeted," he said. Singh said Pakistan continued to "bleed" India through such terrorist attacks. "It was a statement of policy. Our policy is that we will hit you back every time you hit us. We will hit you back harder. So, I think a couple of more time we hit them back, it will certainly settle in their mind," he said. Meanwhile, Indian aggression on Line of Control continues, private TV channels reported.