Pakistani Army to plant IEDs at their own posts along LoC to counter cross-border raids by Indian special forces
Pakistani Army has formed special units to plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at their own posts along the Line of Control (LoC) possibly to counter cross-border raids by Indian special forces.
In Short
- Pakistani Army has formed special units to plant IEDs at their own posts along the LoC.
- The decision to plant IEDs was taken during a meeting between the Pakistani Army and ISI officers.
- Pak Army has tasked militants waiting to infiltrate Kashmir with the twin job of planting IEDs and targeting Indian forces.
The Pakistani Army has formed special units to plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at their own posts along the Line of Control (LoC) possibly to counter cross-border raids by Indian special forces.
According to intelligence sources, the decision to plant IEDs, including in Poonch, was taken at a recent meeting between the Pakistani Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence officers.
Pakistani Army's Special Service Group, 59 Baloch Regiment, 644 Mujahid Battalion, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed have been tasked with planting IEDs and landmines along the LoC, according to intelligence sources. The Pakistani Army has tasked militants waiting to infiltrate Kashmir with the twin job of planting IEDs and targeting Indian security forces in the state.
Defence expert Major General (Retired) PK Sehgal told India Today that the Pakistani Army plans to ambush Indian soldiers using IEDs along the LoC. "There are reports that the Pakistani Army is planning to inflict heavy casualties on the Indian side by planting IEDs in Rajouri and Poonch. But the Indian Army is alert and is capable enough to counter this tactic," he said.
On April 1 last year, one Indian soldier was killed along the LoC in Poonch when an IED went off. On October 4, 2014, another soldier Akshay Godbole, who was on patrol, was killed again in Poonch when an IED apparently planted by militants with the help of Pakistani Army went off.
In 2016, the Defence Research and Development Organisation developed portable jammers to end the danger of IEDs during patrolling by Indian soldiers. Subsequently, one soldier of every patrol team is equipped with the jammer. The jammers were inducted to ensure safety of soldiers during patrolling after a series of IED blasts.