US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

India reclaims Batalik sector, Drass next

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Indian troops today recaptured the Batalik-Yaldoor sector, and are close to totally evicting the intruders from Drass sector.

The troops, after clearing all heights and killing 103 Pakistani soldiers, were on the verge of reaching the Line of Control in the Batalik sub-sector, having evicted the infiltrators from 99 per cent of the intrusions, while in Drass, the army, facing stiff resistance, was fighting a pitched battle to flush out the enemy.

''In Batalik we are 1.5 km from the LoC and our troops are moving forward. Very soon we will be on the LoC'', army spokesman Col Bikram Singh said at a briefing in New Delhi today.

In Dras, Indian troops had recovered 90 per cent of the area and were about three to four km from the LoC but were facing very stiff resistance. ''The battles are going to be bloodier in Dras'', Col Singh said, because the enemy's position close to the LoC were being reinforced.

In Mushkoh valley and Kaksar too, the Indian army was three to four km from the LoC. Early today, Indian Air Force Mirage fighter planes carried out an effective attack an enemy concentration along a river running from Point 4388 in the Dras sector northwards across the LoC.

Almost simultaneously, another wave of fighters struck at Point 4388 and scored a direct hit, group captain D N Ganesh, joint director of operations, said at the briefing. Col Singh said the dramatic developments in the Batalik sector had come because the enemy defences had crumbled owing to the relentless pressure maintained by the ground forces and the heavy attrition caused.

Also, the administrative strangulation of the Pakistanis due to encircling manoeuvres by the Indian troops had dampened the intruders' will to fight.

Earlier in the day, Brigadier General Staff A K Chopra told reporters in Srinagar that though facing stiff resistance from Pakistani regulars, Indian troops were making satisfactory progress in Batalik and Yaldoor areas. He said the area was almost entirely cleared of intruders except a couple of hills.

He declared that the Srinagar-Kargil highway was now safe for civilian traffic and added that "the SRTC buses have already begun plying on the highway."

When asked if there was any indication that Pak intruders were withdrawing from any area after the Sharief-Clinton talks, Brig Chopra said: ''We have observed that they have sent reinforcements and also intensified their counter attack.''

Asked if the operation will be over before snowfall, he said nothing can be said at the moment because the operation is very time consuming. ''Our troops have to fight with the enemy in very difficult terrain,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the Naga Regiment of the Indian Army made a successful attack on a gun position of enemy in Mushkoh last evening killing all the four soldiers. Three 20mm and two 82mm guns besides other automatic weapons were recovered from the slain Pak soldiers, Brig. Chopra said.

About the casualties suffered by Indian troops since the Operation Vijay started, he said: ''We lost 321 soldiers, including 23 officers, and ten others are missing in action. But we killed 661 intruders during the same period.'' Indian troops also recovered huge quantity of arms and ammunition besides documents which clearly proved that the intruders were Pak regulars.

He said Pakistani intruders left about 60 per cent bodies while fleeing back. However, all such bodies were buried by priests of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry.

Giving details of operation during the past 48 hours Brig Chopra said a battalion of the 11 Gorkha Rifles made some significant gains for the Indian Army by capturing Point 5287, while a battalion of the Bihar Regiment reclaimed Point 4927. These battalions had earlier taken Point 4268, Jubar and Khalubar which provided suitable launch pads for progressing operations towards the north, he said.

Brig Chopra said as per the last reports received from the troops fierce fighting was going on to the north of points 4927 and 5287 and mopping up operations were still in progress on the captured heights.

With reports from UNI

The Kargil Crisis

Tell us what you think of this report