Soldiers' killing: Army chief to visit Jammu

Army chief General Bikram Singh will visit Jammu region Wednesday to take stock of the situation after the killing of five Indian soldiers by "heavily armed terrorists" including men dressed like Pakistani soldiers at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said.

The sources said that Gen. Singh was likely to visit Poonch and interact with officers of 16 Corps, which has operational jurisdiction over the Poonch sector.

A non-commissioned officer and four soldiers were killed in the attack that led to a firefight in one of the worst incidents along LoC since the ceasefire came into force between India and Pakistan in 2003. An wounded soldier is recuperating in a hospital at Jammu.

The soldiers belonged to the 21st battalion of Bihar Regiment and were deployed at Sarla post along the LoC near Chakan-Da-Bagh in Poonch sector in Jammu region.

They said that the soldiers on patrol were ambushed Tuesday between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., 400 metres on the Indian side. Official sources said that the norms lay down that no construction can take place 500 metres on either side of LoC.

They said the attackers took advantage of bad weather as visibility was poor.

There have been 57 ceasefire violations by Pakistan this year, 80 percent more than the same period last year. Intelligence sources said that 97 terrorists had tried to infiltrate the LoC since January and around 40 had been successful in their attempts.

Patrolling has been enhanced along LoC.