New Delhi : The government is celebrating the fourth anniversary of the surgical strike on Monday. In response to the deadly attack on an army camp at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir in September 2016, attacks were carried out against militant groups on this day. During his monthly radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reminded the country about the attacks.
PM Modi said, “Four years ago, during this time, the world saw the courage, bravery and valor of our soldiers during a surgical strike. Our brave soldiers had only one mission and goal – to protect and honor the nation at any cost. They did not care about their lives. They kept moving forward on the line of duty and we all witnessed how they returned victorious. They made India proud.
On the night of 27–28 September 2016, Indian Army Special Forces crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and destroyed the launching pad of terror in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). This was in response to a suicide attack by Pakistani militants on the army base camp in Baramulla district of Uri North Kashmir on 18 September that year.
PM Modi had said that the attackers will not be forgiven. The sacrifice of 18 soldiers will not go in vain.
The Army’s preparations for the attacks began on 24 September. Special forces squads were equipped with night-vision devices, Tavor 21 and AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, shoulder-fighter missiles, Heckler and Koch pistols, high-explosive grenades and plastic explosives. All the team consisted of 30 Indian soldiers.
Civilians living close to the border in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab were started evacuating at 10 pm on 27 September before Indian troops left.
These terrorist camps were built to serve as a launchpad to send terrorists into Indian territory. Snipers killed the guards stationed at these launchpads before the troops could enter and complete the operation lasting about five hours.
The army had said that Indian troops destroyed six launchpads and killed 45 militants at various locations. These were under surveillance for a week before the launchpad operation.