Army Chief pays tribute to five martyrs at Jammu Airport (Update:Bikram Singh)

Chief of Army Staff General Bikram Singh paid tribute on Wednesday to the five soldiers who were killed on Tuesday morning by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control in the Poonch Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, soon after his arrival at Jammu Airport.

General Bikram Singh will visit Poonch today to review the security situation in the wake of the killing of the five Indian soldiers.

General Singh is also scheduled to visit the Division headquarters in Rajouri and the 93 Brigade headquarters to take stock of the security situation.

He is also expected to meet the Commanding Officer and troops of the units whose personnel were killed in a Pakistan Border Area Team action, reports said.

Of the five Indian soldiers killed, four belong to the 21 Bihar Regiment and one to the Maratha Light Infantry. They were killed in an ambush by Pakistani troops. The Indian Army soldiers killed in the incident have been identified as Prem Nath Singh,Shambhu Saran Ray, Vyay Kumay Ray, Raghunandan Prasad and Pundalik Mane.

On Tuesday, Defence Minister A.K. Antony strongly condemned Pakistan's firing and attack on the Indian side of the LoC in the Poonch sector.

"We strongly condemn this unprovoked incident. The Government of India has lodged strong protest with the Government of Pakistan through diplomatic channels. I assure the House that our Army is fully ready to take all necessary steps to uphold the sanctity of the LoC," Antony said in a suo moto statement in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

"The Government of India conveys its condolences to the families of the martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty," he added.

Antony informed that a patrol of the Indian Army comprising of one Non Commissioned Officer and five other ranks was ambushed on our side of Line of Control in Poonch Sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

"In the ensuing firefight, five Indian soldiers were martyred and one soldier was injured. The ambush was carried out by approximately 20 heavily armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms," he said.

The Defence Minister informed that the numbers of infiltration attempts have doubled this year in comparison to the corresponding period (January 1- August 5) of 2012.

"There has also been 57 cease fire violations this year, which is 80 percent more than the violations last year during the same corresponding period. The Indian Army successfully eliminated 19 hardcore terrorists in the recent months of July and August along the Line of Control and in the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir," said Antony.

"The effective counter infiltration grid on the Line of Control has ensured that 17 infiltration bids were foiled this year," he added.