Search operation in Keran called off, army prepared for such challenges: Lt. Gen. Chachra

General Officer Commanding (GOC) Northern Command Lt. General Sanjiv Chachra on Tuesday said the search operation in the Keran sector has been called off, but assured that the army is fully prepared to eliminate such infiltration bids in the future should they occur.

"There have been very desperate infiltration attempts in the Keran sector over the past 10 to 14 days. We had very specific intelligence on this operation. We knew about their plans, we knew they were coming, and we were prepared," he told media here today.

"I have now given directions to call off the search, but our counter-infiltration deployment is being strengthened. We are now going to be launching operations which are intelligence based, and which are specific so that we can eliminate and meet up to the challenges that exist," he added.

Lt. Gen. Chachra also confirmed that the army had killed eight terrorists, while recovering over 59 major weapons recovered, out of which 18 of them are AK-47's, and added that a number of search operations have been carried out in that area.

He also said that these infiltrations bids are not going to end till the onset of winter, but expressed confidence that his army is well prepared for these challenges.

"These infiltration bids are not going to end, they will continue as long as the winters don't set in. This is the only time they can do this. From now to the onset of winter, there are more such attempts to be made," he said.

"We are prepared, the morale of our boys are high, and our operations are very specifically based on intelligence that we get, and we are fully prepared for the challenges," he added.

He further clarified that no Indian posts were occupied during the infiltration, and assured that the sanctity of the Line of Control (LoC) is well maintained.

Earlier in the day, Army Chief General Bikram Singh said that his troops had foiled a 'desperate infiltration' bid in Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir, and added that the militants were not in a strong position to mount any attack.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from Keran sector along the Line of Control in Kashmir valley on Monday.

The army launched a massive anti- infiltration operation in Shalbhatti village in Keran Sector on September 24 after noticing a group of 30 to 40 militants trying to sneak into the valley.