Daijiworld Media Network - Jammu
Jammu, Oct 12: Four terrorists, including a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, were killed in a landmine blast along the Line of Control (LoC) while allegedly attempting to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Monday, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as top LeT commander Mohammad Faizan, Mohammad Ishtiyaq, Mohammad Waqas and Mohammad Asim. All four were residents of Mandla, Madarpur, in Hajira tehsil of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (PoJK) Poonch district.
According to officials, the group was attempting to cross the LoC in the Nangi Takri area of the Krishna Ghati (KG) sector late on Monday afternoon when the terrorists triggered a landmine. The powerful explosion killed all four on the spot, they added.
The explosion occurred in the Satwal-Naki/Nangi Takri area, a traditionally known infiltration route allegedly used by cross-border operatives to enter Indian territory.
The infiltrators reportedly entered a heavily fortified forward minefield that forms a key part of the Indian Army’s anti-infiltration obstacle grid.
Following the incident, security forces intensified surveillance and placed the region on high alert. Ambush teams and border patrols have been deployed in strength to examine the area and rule out any coordinated infiltration attempts. Officials said forward areas along the border remain heavily fortified with landmines.
However, recent heavy rainfall in the region has occasionally washed away topsoil, causing older or deeply buried anti-personnel mines to surface or shift from their original positions.
Just days before Monday’s incident, the Army’s Bomb Disposal Squad had located and safely defused five other weathered landmines exposed near the border fence in the neighbouring Mendhar sector.
Traditional infiltration routes in Poonch and Rajouri districts, collectively covering the region south of the Pir Panjal mountain range, are characterised by dense forests, rugged ridges and seasonal streams, locally known as nallahs.
Historically, these border corridors have been used by cross-border operatives attempting to move from launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to the higher ridges of the Pir Panjal range. From there, they may establish transit hideouts in local forests or trek northwards through alpine passes towards the Kashmir Valley.
Security agencies classify the active sectors and traditional infiltration routes in the two districts into several key zones.