Major attack foiled in Jammu Kashmir, says Indian army

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu Kashmir

Indian Army on Monday claimed to have averted a major terror attack in the northern Uri sector of Jammu Kashmir.

"Four terrorists were killed. They were here to carry out a major attack at an army camp,” Harpreet Singh, the deputy commander of Indian Army's Uri Brigade told media Monday."The search operation is still underway. We plan to clear the whole sector," he added.

Shesh Paul Vaid, police chief in disputed Kashmir, said the militants were planning a “suicide” attack like the one carried out on an army base in Uri last year that left 19 soldiers dead and several others injured.

Meanwhile, shops and businesses remained closed across the Kashmir valley and public transport remained off the roads to protest summoning of a top trade Union head by India's National Investigative Agency (NIA) over his alleged connections to resistance movement.

The NIA also summoned a PhD scholar as part of its crackdown against pro-independence resistance movement in the region.

Joint Resistance Leadership of Hurriyat chiefs, Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front head Yasin Malik also supported the protest call.

The NIA has already arrested several people associated with the resistance movement including popular leaders Shabir Ahmad Shah and Nayeem Khan and Shahid ul Islam.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

The two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.

Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu-Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.