Soon after foiling an infiltration attempt along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Naugam sector of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army revealed that about 250-300 terrorists are waiting at launchpads across the border to infiltrate into India.
"Inputs indicate that their launchpads are fully occupied. If we've to guess, it could be anything between 250-300 terrorists presently occupying the launchpads opposite", said Major General Virendra Vats, GOC 19 Infantry Division, Baramullah, on Saturday during a press conference.
So far in 2020, Indian security forces have gunned down 138 terrorists in different infiltration bids and encounters in Jammu and Kashmir, as per data from the South Asia Terrorism Portal.
Of the terrorists killed this year, officials have revealed that over 50 terrorists belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen, around 20 were from Lashkar-e-Taiba, 20 from Jaish-e-Mohammed, and the rest from smaller banned outfits like Al-Badr, Anssar Gazwatul Hind, etc.
The infiltration bids rise this time around due to the suitable weather in the valley, which reels under cold waves in the winters, resulting in areas used for infiltration being blocked.
Indian government officials have claimed that terror activities in the valley declined after the revocation of the temporary special status under Article 370, but security forces have been engaged in several gun battles in the past three months.
Pakistan has repeatedly dismissed Indian allegations of harbouring terrorists on its side of Kashmir.