Austrian-made bullpup assault rifle recovered from slain infiltrators in Keran

SRINAGAR — A huge cache of arms and ammunition, including a Steyr AUG – an Austrian-made bullpup assault rifle – was recovered from the slain militants in the Keran sector of northern Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara district.

An army official informed the news agency KNO that they recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including a Steyr AUG, an AK series rifle, five grenades, and other materials from the two slain militants, who attempted to infiltrate across the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran sector.

Sharing the operation details, the official said, “On July 17, credible input was received from the Jammu & Kashmir Police, which was further corroborated by intelligence agencies, regarding a group of foreign terrorists likely to infiltrate through Keran Sector.”

On July 18 at around 1230 hours, alert troops observed the movement of two militants through thick foliage, on their side of LoC. “The infiltrating terrorists were challenged, who in retaliation opened fire, leading to an intense firefight,” he said.

“In the ensuing firefight, two foreign terrorists were neutralised, and the searches were made which led to the recovery of weapons and other incriminating material besides a Pakistani identity card,” the official said.

This was the third such successful anti-infiltration operation along the LoC over the last few weeks, he added.

Notably, Commander 268 infantry brigade, Keran sector, Brigadier NR Kulkarni earlier during a presser on July 15 said that during the last few weeks, there have been intelligence inputs regarding militants trying to infiltrate the LoC along the Keran sector. They intended to carry out sabotage and subversive activities, aiming to disturb normalcy, particularly the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, he said.

Pertinently, security forces earlier on July 15 said they eliminated three hardcore foreign militants, who tried to infiltrate the LoC in the Keran sector. They recovered a large quantity of war-like stores, including three AK series rifles along with magazines, four pistols and a grenade during the searches in the area.