Indian Army weighs fitting reply to LoC beheading. Here are its options

The options: attacks by ground forces on Pak posts, strikes by aircraft, missiles or artillery guns

The army has begun weighing its options to retaliate against Pakistani forces on the Line of Control (LoC), after their troops, employing jihadi extremists, killed and beheaded two Indian soldiers near Poonch on Monday, top generals said.

Business Standard learns the incident took place when an Indian patrol of 8-10 soldiers was checking the border fence, a perilous task involving physically moving along the fence, very close to the LoC, to check that it has not been cut or its electronic sensors damaged.

According to the modus operandi of Pakistani troops on forward LoC posts, the exposed patrol first came under intense fire from automatic weapons, which Pakistani soldiers had stealthily deployed in temporary positions, just across the LoC.

With two Indian jawans injured in the firing, a “border action team (BAT)”, comprising jihadi fighters, darted across the LoC to the border fence. Covered by the Pakistan army’s firing, the jihadis killed the two jawans, beheaded them, and returned to their side of the LoC, bearing the heads as trophies.

The employment of a BAT is a well-rehearsed Pakistani tactic that creates deniability by using jihadis to cross into the Indian side. If any jihadis are killed or captured, the Pakistan army disowns it as an infiltration attempt. Regular soldiers remain on their side of the LoC, firing on Indian posts and patrols to cover the BAT's move.

A range of retaliatory measures are being weighed by India’s generals, including attacks by ground forces on Pakistani posts, or strikes by aircraft, missiles or massed artillery guns. Read more

Uri attack: Military reviews 'escalation ladder'

Uri attack: Military reviews 'escalation ladder'

The strike by jihadi militants on Sunday on an army camp near Uri, in which 18 soldiers were killed and 29 injured, has inflamed tensions along the Line of Control (LoC). On Tuesday, the army shot down eight Pakistani militants after intercepting a 15-strong group that was discovered infiltrating from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).

With public opinion and the media aroused, and with Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowing to punish those responsible; and the army's top operations officer declaring the military would retaliate at a time and place of its choosing, both sides of the LoC are bracing for what might come.

New Delhi has pinned the attack on the Lashkar-e-Toiba, a militia controlled by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), a wing of the Pakistani Army. Home Minister Rajnath Singhhas declared Pakistan a "terrorist state" and the Indian Army, already grappling with public turmoil in the Kashmir Valley, is evaluating options to extract revenge for Uri.

Pakistan presents an easy target for an Indian diplomatic offensive against its terror-friendly ways, in western capitals and multilateral forums. However, a calibrated military riposte would need more careful consideration.(more)

Also Read: Army's 2016 death toll highest in six years; 31 terrorists killed

Uri attack: 4 stories that highlight the human cost of terror

Uri attack: 4 stories that highlight the human cost of terror

Sepoy KV Janardhan on Monday succumbed to injuries sustained during Sunday morning's attack on an Indian Army camp near the border town of Uri in Jammu & Kashmir by suspected Pakistan-based terrorists, taking the number of martyrs to 18.

The attack has left the nation reeling, and the kin of the martyrs have called upon the government to avenge the loss of the 18 soldiers.

Across the country, families spread across states, from Maharashtra to Bihar, are just beginning to deal with the personal cost imposed by terrorism in the region.

The human cost

Uri Attack :Janardhan, who joined the army in 2008, had got married just two years ago, reports the Indian Express. The report adds that he is survived by his 23-year-old wife, Sneha, a four-month-old daughter, his parents and a younger brother.

According to the report, Janardhan, who hailed from the Yavatmal district in Maharashtra, had been transferred to the Uri Camp just six months ago.

Lance Naik Rajesh Kumar Yadav's family lives in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. Rajesh was among the original 17 martyrs who gave their lives for the country in the pre-dawn Sunday attack.

The national daily reports that people from Rajesh's village and his family members took measures to ensure that the news of his demise did not reach Parvati Devi, his eight months pregnant wife, and his ailing mother, who suffers from a heart condition.

Rajesh's youngest brother, Vikesh Yadav, told the daily that despite all their attempts, some journalists were able to contact Parvati and tell her the grim news.

Rajesh, who had served in the army for 18 years and had just returned to duty from a two-month visit home, is survived by his wife, mother, three brothers, eight-year-old daughter Radhika, and two-year-old daughter Preeti, the report added.Read more

• Ashraf Ghani calls up PM Modi, condemns Uri attack
• NIA takes over Uri terror attack case
• Ready to suspend trade with Pakistan if asked: Tea association
• Relations will Pakistan will never be same: Ravi Shankar Prasad post Uri attack
• India needs retribution, says Kashmiri activist on Uri attack